Sweet Revenge
by Jenna Cassie Herdz
Summary: Just when he thought he was safe from his past evils Sylar gets attacked by a blonde who plans on avenging her brother. Still not fully trusted by any of the other Specials he's determined to show that he HAS changed and he starts with Tatiana
1. New Opponent

**A/N:** welcome to my first Heroes fanfic. i couldn't take it anymore! i had to write one! lol. so, i'd just like to say that i watched it all the way through, and with the threat of it not coming back, (correct me on that if i'm wrong) i couldn't help myself. so here it is! i was so happy when Sylar went good! my dad seems to think it won't last, but i have my fingers crossed. however, as i have written him, he still has that badboy persona. i wanted to say that before you all freaked out about him being a goodie-two-shoes. anyway, enjoy!

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_**Chapter 1: New Opponent**_

She shoved past reporters, who had just witnessed one girl jump from the Ferris wheel and not die, and all wondering what _she_ would do, if anything. The strawberry blonde kept her angered emerald gaze on the two men past the crowd of flashing lights, video cameras and microphones, marching forward as the reporters backed up to keep at her pace. The girl that had started this had left with her father and now the two men were staring at the crowd in wonder.

She found a gap in the crowd to give her a clear view of the men and gritted her teeth as she threw a hand up, rolling her wrist to claw at the air until her palm was face up and as she did this, a clear filmy, firm substance wrapped around one of the men from feet to shoulders as they stared at her in wonder and the reporters gasped, asking their cameramen if they were getting this.

She ignored all, marching toward the men as she moved her hand to slap the air, making her palm face the ground and causing the man to slam back first onto the ground.

"I knew it was you, you son of a bitch!" she snarled, marching toward him, but the other dark haired man stepped in front of her, stopping her.

"Let him go," he requested, calmly.

"Peter, don't," the man on the ground called, warningly.

"Yeah, Peter," the blonde retorted, mockingly. "Don't."

Without another word she placed a hand on his chest and a surge of the clear film shoved him out of the way, into the air then to the ground with a thud a few yards away. She turned her attention to the man on the ground and stalked toward him as she lifted her hand, palm facing up and she flicked her index and middle finger toward her to shoot the man to his feet again as she stood right in front of him, a head shorter than him.

"Sylar," she ground out as he looked down at her in dazed shock from being whipped around. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this day, do you? You never could, since you didn't bother asking my brother who he was leaving behind when you killed him. You wouldn't be who you are if not for him and the power you stole from him!"

Realization set into Sylar's eyes as they widened and he breathed, "Your brother was Brian Davis?"

"Emphasis on _was_," the blonde spat. "You have no idea what I've been through to find you. I even changed my name _several_ times, and now I've found you. I have you at my mercy, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it." She kept her hand palm up and raised her fingers toward the sky, slowly closing them toward her palm to make the film squeeze tighter around Sylar's body and making him start to squirm in pain. "How bout I squeeze you till your head pops off? That should be about your speed. A nice, gory death for a twisted villain like you. What d'ya think?"

She was suddenly tackled back and the film fell from Sylar's body, disappearing as she felt some of her power being drained from her and he fell onto the ground from the sudden loss of support. She gave a grunt when she landed on the ground, Peter a few feet away from her and she shot to her feet to glare at him with a predatory gaze as he stood as well.

"Empath, huh?" she smirked. "This should be fun."

"Stop this," Peter panted from having to tackle her as Sylar dusted himself off and headed toward Peter to stand next to him. "Nobody has to die."

"_He_ does," the blonde snapped, pointing at Sylar and she continued to glare at the two. "He's a murderer!"

"Not anymore," Peter replied, but shot his gaze to his shoulder when he felt a hand on it.

"I'll handle this myself, Peter," Sylar assured him, stepping around him as the empath frowned at him and the blonde gave a devious smirk.

"Finally gonna get your hands dirty?" she smirked as Sylar stepped in front of Peter. "How naïve is he? Thinking you're not a murderer anymore. What is he? Stupid?"

"I _have_ changed," Sylar argued calmly, taking a step toward her.

"Like hell," the blonde snapped, taking a step back to keep a good distance between them. "People like you don't change over night. What _good_ have you done?"

"I saved a woman from killing thousands of people," he replied, still heading toward her and she still stepped back.

"Oh, and that makes you Saint of the freakin' year, right?" she shot back, backing toward the crowd of people. "One heroic act doesn't make you a hero."

"Doesn't it?" Sylar wondered knowingly, finally stopping. "I don't have any desire to kill anymore. I could have killed so many times tonight, but I didn't."

"But you killed my brother!" the blonde screamed, tears coming to her eyes as she shoved the air in front of her with both hands, sending a surge of clear film at him but just as she did he raised his hands and used his telekinesis to keep it from hitting himself and Peter, not without being shoved slightly back with the force of it. The blonde growled as she dropped the shield as she dropped her hands and breathed heavily through clenched teeth, still glaring at Sylar. "You killed him…and _I'm_ going to kill _you_, even if I have to do it with my bare hands!"

She lifted her hands to strike again, but Sylar lifted his hands as if he held a puppet on strings, and she moved as if _she_ were the puppet. Her elbows came up to shoulder height, her hands dangling loosely and she tried struggling against the invisible force, but it did no good. Sylar moved his hands so that her arms came down to her sides then walked her toward himself and Peter as the crowd of reporters still watched in awe.

"Fitting power for you to have---!" She was cut off when Sylar used one hand to touch his finger tips to his thumb, shutting her mouth and she struggled against that too, but in vain.

"What should we do with her?" he wondered at Peter, neither one of them taking their eyes off of her and neither one caring about the reporters. After seeing Claire 'kill' herself, this was probably nothing, really.

Peter glanced at the reporters, realizing they'd probably be doing more harm than good at letting them see this, and said, "Let's take her somewhere to question her. Preferably _away_ from the cameras."

Sylar nodded as Peter placed a hand on his shoulder to absorb a bit of his flight ability, and they both took each of the blonde's hands to launch into the sky, the reporters snapping pictures and watching them the whole way as they flew from the carnival.

* * *

_One hour later..._

"Let me outta this chair!" she snarled, struggling to free herself from the wires around her wrists and ankles as Peter and Sylar stood in front of her in a motel room. "I'm gonna kill you the way you killed my brother!"

"Now, is that any incentive for us to untie you?" Sylar wondered, half honest, half sarcastic and the blonde glared up at him, stopping in her struggle to be free to do so. It was a little chilling to both him and Peter how much she looked like him when she glared at them like that.

"I could get out of this if I wanted to," she murmured, dangerously. "I can sharpen my shields enough to cut through things. Maybe I can demonstrate on your _head_?!"

"I can regenerate, remember?" Sylar retorted, making Peter look at him with wide eyes. Apparently, the cocky sarcasm hadn't gone away with his desire to kill. "Why don't you tell us your name?"

"What do _you_ care?" the blonde sneered, looking away from them and slightly tugging on the bonds around her wrists.

"What's your name?" Peter asked, guessing she'd respond better to him than to Sylar and she looked up at him, her emerald eyes evaluating him closely.

"My name was Tina Davis," she replied, not taking her gaze from Peter. "My legal name now is Tatiana York."

"And you're here to avenge your brother," Peter guessed as Sylar glanced between the two of them. He was obviously _out_ of the conversation at the moment and decided to have a seat on one of the beds.

"Yes," Tatiana ground out, now glaring at Peter. "And I don't care what you seem to think, Sylar is a murderer. He _can't_ change. Not a psychopath like _him_."

"You _do_ know I'm right here," Sylar called and when she shot her gaze at him he waved with a sarcastic smile. "I can hear you."

"I don't give a shit if you can hear me or not!" Tatiana snapped back. "It's true! If it offends you that much why don't you just take off my head like you do everyone else?!"

"Alright, first of all, I never really took off anyone's whole head," Sylar corrected, standing and stepping toward her again as Peter watched the two carefully. "I just took off their scalps." He leaned in front of her, his hands resting on her wrists as she glared at him. "Second of all, I told you, I'm not killing anymore. I don't _want_ to kill anymore. Whether you wanna believe that or not, it's true."

"I _don't_ believe it," Tatiana shot back. "And as soon as I get out of this chair it won't matter, because you'll be dead."

"Determined, aren't you?" Sylar retorted, standing fully to stare down at her as she only glared up at him before he turned to Peter over his shoulder to tell him, "I say we leave her here and get our head start."

"It doesn't matter where you go," she chimed in, making both men look back at her as she glared at Sylar. "I'll find you, and fight you until you're dead."

"Well, that'll take all your life, sweetheart, because I'm immortal," Sylar retorted, making Tatiana's eyes widen. "Don't you know? Being indestructible like that girl that jumped off the Ferris wheel means I can't die."

"Everyone dies," she smirked, deviously. "It's just a matter of finding the soft spot. I could chop off your head. _That_ would kill you."

"It might," Sylar nodded and leaned in her face again. "But do you _really_ wanna take that chance and fail?"

"Alright, that's enough," Peter interjected, not liking where this was going. He pulled Sylar back by the arm to get his attention as he suggested, "Let's leave her here, like you said. She'll get herself out, but we'll need that head start if she comes after you again."

"Oh, there's no 'if' about it, Peter," she chimed in, catching their attention again. "I _will_ come after him."

"I look forward to the challenge," Sylar shot back with that smirk he'd always given before slicing the top of someone's head off. Peter caught the look and quickly pulled him back toward the door, fearing the worst.

"Let's go," he urged, pulling him away, but the two kept eye contact for a moment before Sylar turned away and pulled his arm from Peter's grip as they stepped out of the room on the first floor just in time to catch the sun coming up.

"We should've asked her how she found me," Sylar said as they walked through the parking lot. "She probably has some locator power."

"It's not that," Peter explained, making Sylar frown at him in wonder. "When I tackled her I took some of her power. She can sense other Specials within a certain range."

"How far a range?" Sylar asked, intrigued and Peter shrugged.

"Half a mile, maybe?" he replied. "I couldn't sense where Hiro had taken the others at the carnival. It's not very far."

"Can she sense _who_ the person is?" Sylar wondered.

"No," he shook his head. "That's why she blitz-attacked. She had to _see_ that it was you."

Sylar nodded and thought back on why she was after him for a moment, but didn't have time to dwell on it when Peter tapped his arm, drawing his attention.

"We'd better get that head start," he suggested. "I have to find Emma and make sure she's ok."

"Yeah," Sylar nodded, absently. "I'll go…home."

Peter nodded and thanked him for saving Emma again before flying into the sunrise, Sylar watching him before looking around and deciding to hoof it. He glanced back at the motel room door where they had left Tatiana once more before heading down the street toward his apartment. He felt like he hadn't been there in so long.

No sooner had he strolled out of sight of the motel did the door to the room the three had been splinter into pieces as a pulse erupted from inside the room. As the wood chips from the explosion fell, Tatiana stepped out of the room and into the dawn, glaring around, knowing Sylar was still close by. She sensed him.

"I'll get you yet, you psychotic son of a botch," she ground out to herself. "You don't deserve my brother's power."

She lifted a hand to the point it at the ground and drew a circle in the air. The filmy substance she called as her shields formed a saucer a few inches above the ground and she stepped onto it. She guided it with her mind to fly up above the parking lot then toward the street where she caught sight of Sylar.

"Gotcha," she whispered, and leaned forward a bit as she guided her shield toward him at lightening speed.

He spun around, hearing her coming and lifted a hand to stop her a few feet above him but she kicked the saucer below feet at him and it hit him in the gut, sending him back and to the ground as the saucer fell away and disappeared as Tatiana fell to the ground when his hold on her broke. They both groaned in pain as they struggled to get to their feet. Tatiana was the first to get the world back into focus, and seeing Sylar struggling to get up she lifted a hand and clawed the air, rolling her wrist until her palm faced up again and a shield formed around Sylar again as it had at the carnival.

"This time, I don't have that damned Empath to stop me from killing you," she snarled, marching toward him as Sylar's head lulled on his shoulders and he groaned in pain, lifting his head.

"Don't," he breathed, trying to regain his senses from being thrown.

"Why the hell not?!" Tatiana snapped and lifted another hand to point at his mouth, drawing a line in the air and causing a strip of clear film to cover his mouth to keep him from speaking. "You didn't spare my brother! Why _shouldn't_ a kill you?! You're _Sylar_, damn it! I'd be doing the world a favor if I killed you, and no matter how many times you tell me you've changed, you haven't! You're still a cold blooded killer!"

She started pulling her fingers into her palm as she had done before and Sylar gave little muffled noises of discomfort as she did. She had him, and it made her confident to know that she had Sylar, her brother's killer, at her mercy. Then she did something stupid.

She removed the strip of film from his mouth with a flick of her fingers and asked, smugly, "Any last words, scumbag?"

Sylar glared at her and smirked, making her frown in wonder before he said, "_You're going to release me, now_."

Tatiana's frown disappeared as she lowered her hand and the shield disappeared from Sylar's body as she stared at him, blankly. He stood tall, straightening himself out and she shook her head vigorously, coming back to reality and out of her trance. She shot her gaze to him and lifted her hand to capture him again but she was stopped.

"_Stop_," he ordered, calling open Eden's power of control to help him, and Tatiana stopped, staring at him blankly again. He smiled, deviously and strode toward her, saying, "_You'll come with me and let me do any talking that needs to be done_."

"I'll come with you," she said, absently and Sylar nodded in approval before taking her hand and leading her down the street. She obediently trailed after him as he headed toward his house with a little more light to guide him along.

"You'll give up trying to kill me, soon enough," he smiled, more to himself than to her and thought for a moment. "I'll need to call in a favor from Noah when we get to me place." His devious smile returned at that thought. "That's gonna be a fun conversation."

* * *

**A/N:** and there it is. if i go OOC with anybody just tell me. and by that, I mean Sylar, since this story is mostly about him and Tatiana. reviews?


	2. Chance

**A/N:** i was supposed to say this in the first chappie, but no, i didn't realize that Tatiana kinda has a look of Claire cuz she's strawberry blonde and has green eyes, but she's leaner than Claire. there, have at it. new chappie! enjoy!

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_**Chapter 2: Chance**_

"_Bennet_."

"Hello, Noah."

"_Sylar?!_"

"Call me Gabriel, won't you? I've given up Sylar."

"_Like hell, you have. How did you get this number?_"

"Thanks to you, I have Nathan's memories, remember? Your number was one of them."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment that made Sylar smile.

"_What do you want?_" Noah finally asked, not really caring.

"The Haitian," Sylar replied, simply.

"_What the hell for?_" Noah shot back, but Sylar could hear the interest in his voice.

"I have a bit of a problem, Noah," he explained, using his telekinesis to lift his empty cup from the table as he leaned on it to move it to his sink as he said, "This girl attacked me at the carnival for killing her brother."

"_I'm not surprised_," Noah shot back.

"I know you're not," Sylar retorted, looking toward his living room where Tatiana now sat on the couch, staring at the TV which had been shut off a long time ago from his lack of payments which stopped months ago. Thank goodness the water was still going and just the electricity was shut off. As it was now he was surrounded in sunlight from the open windows and talking on the girl's cell phone, not his house phone. "Anyway, she won't leave me alone, and I need the Haitian's power to keep her from attacking me so that I can talk to her civilly."

"_And you called me to tell him to go to his death which is currently located at your location?_" Noah shot back.

"My apartment," Sylar enlightened him. "And you can come with if you'd like. I don't plan on killing him for it."

"_I don't think so, __Sylar_," Noah snapped back, mockingly and Sylar sighed in exasperation, leaning forward on the table.

"Look, I know you won't believe me, but I've stopped killing," he explained. "Ever since I got my body back I've been too---What's the word?---_Guilt-ridden_, I suppose, to kill anybody. I've changed, Noah. Peter and Matt can vouch for that."

"_I know all about your little play at heroics at the carnival_," Noah replied. "_That doesn't change who you are. Who you __were__. We've played this game before, remember? When you came to work for the Company._"

"This is different," Sylar argued. "I wasn't manipulated, or made to do it, it just happened. I'm sure it's hard for you to understand, but try, just a little."

There was silence on the other end as Sylar willed him to stop arguing and he smiled when he heard a defeated sigh on the other end.

"_Fine_," Noah groaned. "_But I'm coming with René, and you had better leave me alone after this._"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Sylar smiled, and without a good bye, the phone clicked in his ear.

He hung up the phone and shoved it in his pocket as he leaned back in his chair for a moment before glancing around and he stood to head toward the couch and stand behind it, sighing in satisfaction at the fact that he was getting his way with Bennet as he leaned on the back of the couch.

He looked down at Tatiana and frowned slightly, saying, "You're awfully dirty. _Go take a shower_."

"I'll go take a shower," she said, absently and stood to head toward the bathroom.

Sylar followed her to give her towels before he headed into his room to look for something she could wear. It wasn't long before he heard a knock at the door and he rushed out of his room to answer it to find Noah looking very unhappy with René next to him as stoic as ever.

"Where's your 'problem,' Sylar?" Noah asked, shoving past him and into the room.

"Nice to see you too," Sylar muttered as he moved out of the way for René to step into the apartment. "She's in the shower."

"The shower?" Noah frowned in wonder. "I thought she wasn't being civil."

"Well, thanks to Eden's power I have her under control, somewhat," Sylar replied and smirked deviously when he saw Noah tense up even more at the mention of Eden. "Didn't think I'd remember who I got my powers from, did you?"

"It would be easier…" Noah began, changing the subject, "if we just erase you from her memory."

"It would," Sylar agreed, glancing to René. "But I've done enough damage already." Noah frowned but said nothing as Sylar continued, "When she comes out, she'll be really angry, but with the Haitian here, she won't be as much of a threat as she was when she caught up with me."

"Just out of curiosity," Noah chimed in. "What can she do?"

Sylar gave a devious smirk before heading toward the kitchen and said, "Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" Noah glared at him before he called, "Want some water? I don't have anything else."

"What the hell?!"

Sylar gave a smirk, filling a glass with water from the sink as Noah and René looked to the hall to see Tatiana dripping wet and in nothing but a towel, her short, drenched blonde hair whipping around her face as she glanced around at them before turning a glare to Sylar.

"What the hell did you do to me?" she ground out as he looked up at her, swallowing to keep his composure at seeing her in almost nothing. He had to admit, even if she hated him, she was still pretty hot.

"Technically, nothing," he replied honestly, taking the glass of water he'd served to set it on the table. "I just persuaded you _not_ to kill me for a while."

"Well, now that _that's_ over…" she trailed off, lifting her hand, the other holding onto her towel, and rolled her wrist to claw at the air but nothing happened. Her shield didn't envelope Sylar like they had before, and even as she attempted it again, it _still_ didn't work, making her stare at him in disbelief and wonder. "What the _hell_ did you do?!"

"It's not what _I'm_ doing," he corrected and gestured toward René and Noah who'd been standing silently to watch the scene, and she shot her gaze to them as Sylar continued, "Tatiana, meet Noah Bennet and the Haitian. The Haitian has this wonderful ability of neutralizing other's abilities. So as long as he's around, you can't use your power and neither can I. So for the moment, we're on a level playing field."

Tatiana shot her wide-eyed gaze back to him as he smirked triumphantly but her shock turned to a glare as she ground out, "You can't keep him here forever."

"No," Sylar agreed with a nod. "And I hadn't _planned_ on keeping him here forever. Just long enough for us to have a nice conversation."

"What makes you think I wanna _talk_ to you?" she ground out again.

"Because I know a lot more about you than you think I do," he retorted, making her look at him in shock again as René and Noah gave him frowns, all making him smirk at their expressions but he kept his focus on the blonde. "And now, you're intrigued." He gestured to the chair next to him and said, "Have a seat."

Tatiana glared at him for a moment then looked down at herself and decided to head back into the bathroom first. Sylar smirked as he took the glass on the table and took a sip, Noah and René looking to him.

"I see why you're keeping her around," Noah smirked, making Sylar give a slight frown as he set the glass down and stood to head toward the hall.

"What do you mean?" he wondered, honestly.

"Oh, come on, you're not blind," Noah retorted.

Sylar said nothing as he headed toward his room to find some clothes for Tatiana, only to have the bathroom door slam in his face as she heard his footsteps approaching. He gave a snicker and continued down the hall to his room to pull out a pair of shorts and a shirt she could wear.

He stopped at the bathroom door and knocked, calling, "I don't have any women's clothes, so these will have to do---"

"I'm not wearing any clothes of _yours_," she snapped through the door.

"Well, you're gonna have to for now," he called, noticing the clothes she'd been wearing sitting on the floor outside the bathroom. He smirked as he kicked them across the floor and through the door to his room as he flatly lied, "Your other clothes are in the washer downstairs."

Noah rolled his eyes as he decided to have a seat on the couch, but René remained standing. Sylar's super hearing picked up a curse on the other side of the door, making his smirk widen before the door opened slightly. A hand came out to snatch the clothes he was holding before the door slammed shut again. He strolled back to the kitchen and sat at the table, waiting for her to dress and come out.

"So who was her brother?" Noah wondered, shifting on the couch to face him as René leaned back on it, glancing around the apartment.

"Brian Davis," Sylar replied, taking another drink of his water. "His was the first power I stole."

"She's been pissed off at you for a while then, huh?" Noah smirked and Sylar glanced at him but said nothing as he heard angry footsteps march out of the bathroom and saw Tatiana scowling, her hair still damp as she marched toward the kitchen to sit herself in the chair next to him.

"Alright, I'm here," she snapped and leaned a little on the table, demanding, "Now what the hell do you know about me?"

"Funny that you didn't ask _how_ I know so much about you," Sylar began, making her frown. "You asked _what_. The how doesn't matter to you, does it? It's never the how. Always the whys and whats of things."

"What are you getting at?" Tatiana spat, glaring at him and he smirked, deviously as he leaned on the table.

"You've never killed before, have you?" he asked and Tatiana's eyes shot wide before she looked away from him. That was all the answer he needed as he nodded and sat back in his chair. "That's what I thought. You acted like a rookie. You had me _twice_ and you got cocky."

"You got to him _twice_?" Noah suddenly chimed in, drawing Sylar's attention. "Getting slow in your old age, are we Sylar?"

"Well I'm not _you_!" Tatiana snapped at Sylar, glaring at him and making him look at her again.

"No, you're not," he agreed, but said nothing else, knowing she had more to say.

"I'm not a psychopath who kills and takes what he wants from other Specials! From his own _kind_!" she ranted. "I've never killed, and I know I wouldn't even _enjoy_ killing!"

_Never know until you try_, Sylar thought to himself and _kept_ it to himself as he glanced at Noah, leaning on the table again and pointed out to her, "You're still alive. You think it I was still killing you'd be here talking to me?"

Tatiana opened her mouth to reply, but found herself without an answer as Sylar nodded when he noticed her loss for words.

René looked at Noah who glanced at him and admitted in a mumbled, "He has a point."

Tatiana closed her mouth again, casting her gaze down to her lap to twiddle her thumbs. He'd called on Lydia's power when he took her hand back on the street to look into her soul, and he decided it was time to use what he'd learned.

"You want your brother back," he voiced his findings, making her look up at him with wide eyes. "I can't give you that, and I know saying I'm sorry a thousand times won't make it any less painful, but if you give me a chance---try to see that I _have_ changed, maybe you can find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Tatiana glared at him for a moment before looking away from him in thought. She didn't want to be around the man who'd killed her brother and so many other people, but she had no where else to go. She's been living at Samuel's carnival for weeks, and now _that_ was gone too. If she didn't stay there, she'd be wandering the streets, still waiting for a chance to get Sylar while he was out and about. Then again, if she stayed there, she'd have a fair shot at him when he let his guard down.

Noah watched the girl carefully. He could tell she was thinking very carefully about this and he couldn't help but wonder why Sylar was keeping this girl around. It seemed like he _had_ changed, but he knew Sylar wasn't one to tie himself to _anyone_ whether he had changed or not or whether they were out to _kill_ him or not. What was his angle with this one?

"Fine," Tatiana muttered, not looking at him. "Only if I can stay here. I have no where else to go."

"Certainly," he nodded, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied smile. "The couch is a pull-out. Make yourself at home."

She kept her gaze to her lap, still twiddling her thumbs as she muttered, "I need clothes."

"We'll go shopping a little later," he said, standing from his chair. "There's no food, so we'll have to eat out for now."

"Whatever," she muttered and looked over her shoulder at Noah and René before looking back to Sylar and saying, "I've already agreed to give you a chance, I think you can let these guys go now."

"Just getting to that," Sylar replied, heading toward the door and opening it, saying, "Thank you for your services, you can go now."

René headed toward the door as Noah stood from the couch but stopped in front of Sylar, making him frown, but the former Company agent only said, "Don't _ever_ call me again, got it?"

"Yes, Sir," Sylar saluted, sarcastically with two fingers, and Noah only headed down the hall. As Sylar closed the door, he couldn't resist calling, "Say 'hi' to Claire for me."

He quickly shut the door and smirked deviously as he turned back to head down the hall to grab Tatiana's clothes and headed back to the door.

"I'll be right back," he called from the front door. "Gotta…check on your clothes."

Tatiana only nodded and when she heard the door shut, she sprung into action. She started looking for anything that could give a clue as to a weak spot. Something to bait him with. She'd have her revenge, she thought, and it would be a sweet as honey.

* * *

Sylar sighed as he used his telekinesis to lift each piece of clothing from the washer and twirled his finger in quick circles, making the clothing spin in the air until it was dry. He finished quickly and gathered the clothes to head back up to his apartment only to find it in half of a mess, Tatiana frozen in the middle of the living room. He frowned, looking around his apartment as he shut the door behind and looked up at Tatiana.

"What happened?" he asked, setting her clothes on the couch.

"Nothing," Tatiana cracked, and though a slight tingle ran through him, he didn't need his lie detecting power to know she was lying.

He heard her swallow as he stood directly in front of her and said, "You're lying. And you're not very good at it."

Her gaze shifted and she flopped onto the couch, knowing she was caught and she snapped, "Ok, ok. I was looking for something. Something to take you down with but you don't have _anything_ revealing in this shit apartment. Just bloody hand prints on the door."

She gazed at the door and he heard her swallow again. He didn't blame her. He knew it looked creepy having his bloody hand prints on the door. It was the mark of his second kill and he made a mental note to clean that up when he got the chance.

"Well, I'm glad you got that out of your system," he smirked, picking up her clothes again and handing them to her. "Here are your clothes. Fresh from the wash."

Tatiana glared at him, snatching them from him and walked around him to head for the bathroom without a word.

"You're welcome," he called, but the only response he got was the slam of the bathroom door.

Sylar sighed and headed down the hall to his room to find his stash of emergency money on a high shelf in an old tin can. It may have been cliché, but it worked. He used his telekinesis to take it down and blew on the lid, dusty from neglect. He popped the top and pulled out the wad of money to stuff it into his jacket pocket and head back down the hall. Just as he passed the bathroom, the door opened and Tatiana stepped out, combing her fingers through her still damp hair, and he finally got a good look at what she'd been wearing.

She wore a tiny white shirt beneath a short denim jacket with purple short shorts and knee high black boots that had purple laces at the top. He guessed she'd been part of the carnival by her dress, but he couldn't help but wonder how she'd ended up still there, and not with the others, wherever Hiro had taken them. He shrugged it off and headed to the front door, knowing she was glaring at him, but he didn't care.

"You coming?" he asked, opening the door and facing her as she frowned at him.

"Where?" she asked.

"The store," he replied. "I don't know what you'd wanna eat so you're gonna have to tell me, unless you come with."

Tatiana glanced around and suddenly felt her stomach roll with hunger making her nod and step toward the door as he still held it open. She stepped into the hall and he closed it behind him as he stepped out as well and locked the door.

"Can we stop somewhere to eat first?" she requested a bit reluctantly and he only nodded, pulling out the money from his pocket and counting through it as they headed down the hall.

"Here," he said handing her some of it and she frowned at it before taking it.

"What's this for?" she wondered, counting it.

"In case you decide to ditch me," he shrugged.

"What do you care if I have money?" she wondered.

"Just hold onto it," he replied, irritably. "Can you do that?"

"Whatever," she shrugged, shoving the money into her pocket and Sylar sighed. This was going to be fun, he could tell already.

* * *

**A/N:** yeah, i couldn't remember how his apartment was laid out, so i wasn't too specific about it. reviews?


	3. Secret

**A/N:** new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Secret**_

"Oh, hell."

Sylar and Tatiana stood outside the store staring at the pouring rain, both with groceries in their arms.

"And we _walked_," Tatiana recalled, making Sylar sigh before looking at her and she turned to him with a frown, shrugging, "What?"

"Mind helping out, here?" he hinted, twirling a finger in the air to gesture above his head.

"Afraid of a little rain, are we, Mr. Murderer?" Tatiana shot back, knowing what he wanted, but not moving.

"No, but unless you want soggy food when we get home, I suggest you use your shield for an umbrella," he retorted, ignoring her name calling.

She glared at him, knowing he was right, but not wanting to admit it. With a small sigh she shifted the bags she was holding and lifting a hand between them. She looked up as she twirled a finger in the air, a shield forming above their heads to cover them both as she did. She then opened her hand, palm facing up, fingers spread, and lowered her hand a little, the shield arching around them to form a handle-less umbrella.

"Thank you," Sylar nodded as Tatiana lowered her hand and they began walking back toward his apartment, she guiding the shield to hover above them with her mind. "Looks like you can handle your shields pretty well, huh?"

"Don't try to make small talk," Tatiana snapped, shifting the bags she held again. "I know all you care about is figuring out how it works so you can _take_ it."

"I already know how it works," he retorted and smirked when she whipped her gaze to him. "That's my power. I know how things work…what makes them tick."

"You mean you _stole_ that from someone," she shot back, her shock quickly dissolving as she faced ahead.

"Actually, that power is truly mine," he corrected calmly, making her look at him again. "It's the one I…started out with."

"Well, that's…a relief," she muttered looking ahead again, but he caught it and turned a frown to her.

"A relief?" he echoed and she looked back at him.

"Yeah," she nodded shortly. "I thought you didn't have _anything_ except the ability to _take_ people's powers. But I guess you had to start with something."

"You know what I used to do for a living?" he wondered, "Before I found out about my power?"

"Robbed banks?" Tatiana retorted, noticing a couple under an umbrella approaching them and staring at her in astonishment because of her shield.

"I repaired and made watches," Sylar replied, ignoring her sarcasm and not being able to help noticing the couple staring at them as well.

Tatiana lifted a hand between them, her fingers pointing up. She made a quick gesture with the flick of her wrist as if she were screwing in a light bulb and the shield above their heads spun quickly, spitting the rain that repelled off of it onto the couple just as they passed. They flinched, hurrying away and Tatiana lowered her hand with a devious chuckle.

"What was that for?" Sylar wondered, matter-of-factly.

"They were staring," she shrugged, flatly. "They should've taken a picture. It would last longer."

"Don't like being stared at?" he guessed, smirking slightly at her mischievous nature.

"Who does?" she replied, not noticing his smirk as she faced ahead as she muttered, "Especially one of us."

"Oh, so it's not that you don't like being stared at _period_," he realized, sending her gaze at him as he looked back at her, continuing, "It's that you don't like being stared at like a freak, right?"

"Isn't that the same thing?" she shot back. "When people stare at you if they didn't know you had a power, doesn't it make you feel like something's wrong with you anyway? Like something's out of place, or not _just so_ in the way you look or act?"

"Sometimes they're staring because they're jealous," Sylar replied, not being able to help adding, "I'm sure that's why _anybody_ would stare at you."

"Nice try, Don Juan," she retorted. "They stare at me because they see a freak who can pretty much survive anything if she uses her shields fast enough."

"Ever stop to think that maybe you're not so much a freak as…superior?" he wondered and she stopped to glare at him. He almost stepped into the rain, but quickly stopped himself and looked back at her in wonder.

"I'm _not_ going to turn into you," she growled. "Just because I have these powers doesn't mean I'm any more _superior_ than the rest of the human race. I still bleed red when you cut me, I still feel, and I can still die. What makes _me_ any different from them besides my power?"

"Don't tell me you're one of those that thinks they can lead a normal life," Sylar sighed, rolling his eyes, making Tatiana's glare burn even hotter at him as he stepped closer to her. "I'm gonna tell you a secret: You can't. No matter how much you try, you can't live a normal life because you're not normal according to everyone _else's_ standards. You're different alright, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

"Nice speech, but I'm not buying it," she spat back. "You say you've changed, that you're not killing anymore, but you're the same asshole I remember."

She caught what she'd said when he frowned in wonder at her and panic made her heart thump in her chest. There was no taking _that_ back, and she knew it. She wished she'd been a time traveler instead just to fix this moment and avoid the question he asked next.

"You remember?" he echoed with a bit of an edge. "What the hell are you talking about? We never met. How the hell do you know me?"

Tatiana swallowed as they stood in the rain, people passing by them and his gaze boring into hers. She knew she'd never be more afraid of anything than this man standing in front of her, and she hated that fact.

"How do you know me?" he asked again, impatiently and Tatiana cleared her throat before glancing around, trying to get out of it.

"I _heard_ about you," she finally snapped, faking irritation to hide her panic. "_That's_ how I know you."

Sylar felt a tingle run through him and narrowed his gaze at her, but didn't stop her from trying to lie to him.

"Word came out about you years ago, then you were gone and forgotten about for a while," she explained. "_That's_ why I said it the way I did."

"You're lying," he replied flatly, making her shoot a wide-eyed gaze at him. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I said you weren't good at it. But I didn't really expect you to tell me the truth right away."

He turned to head down the street, nodding mutely that she come with him and she cautiously started walking with him, still keeping her shield above them to protect them from the rain. The rest of the way to his apartment was silent, but she didn't care. She'd rather walk with him in awkward silence than have a battle of wits with him the whole way back.

Once under the awning of his apartment building, he pulled his keys from his pocket as she lifted her hand toward her shield, palm open, and when she quickly made a fist, the shield disappeared. She gave a small smirk that Sylar noticed, but didn't mention. He could tell, Tatiana loved using her ability whether she felt it made her freak or not. They were silent as they trudged up the stairs and as they entered his apartment, he used his telekinesis to float all the bags from their hands and toward the dining room table where he set them down.

"Thank---"

Tatiana was cut short when she was flung through the air by an invisible force, landing on the couch with a grunt and held still. Sylar stepped toward her, his hand raised as he held her on the couch and knelt next to her as she tried fighting against his hold, fear building inside her.

"I knew you hadn't changed," Tatiana growled, ceasing her struggle against his power and glaring at him. "Go ahead. Do it. Take my power like you did my brother's and everyone else's."

"Oh, stop being dramatic," he snapped, irritably. "I'm not gonna kill you, and if I wanted your power I could take it _without_ killing you. And even if I took your powers, what good would they do me? I'm already indestructible, and I can hear anybody coming up on me. They're worthless to me."

"Then what the hell are you doing this for?!" Tatiana shouted, and he used his Puppetry power to close her mouth, which she tried struggling against, but failed.

"When I let you talk again, I wanna hear about how you know me. No lies," he said calmly, but in his head he was trying to figure out how he hadn't picked up on this when he read her soul earlier. It must have been buried in the back of her mind when she was under that trance.

_Note to self_, he thought. _Never mix Eden's power with Lydia's again_.

"Are you gonna tell me what I wanna know or continue to be a pain in the ass?" he asked, releasing her mouth with one hand but keeping her still with the other.

"I can't believe you don't remember," she muttered, not turning her burning gaze from him as he frowned in wonder.

"Why don't you jog my memory then?" he demanded, both now in a glaring match.

"I worked for your father," she replied, and Sylar gave a frown, wondering which father she was talking about, but she soon answered that question. "The watchmaker. I worked in the shop with you before he died. I was only there for a week."

"That's impossible," he frowned, shaking his head and he was about to say that he would have remembered a pretty girl working in his father's shop, but he kept that back. He suddenly realized his Lie Detector wasn't going off. She was telling the truth.

"I…" he breathed, then cleared his throat before trying again, "I never left my work. I hardly noticed anyone else but my father and the customers."

"_That's_ what made you an asshole," she snapped. "You never _once_ talked to me or even noticed me."

"You _wanted_ me to?" he suddenly smirked smugly, and for the first time since they'd met, she blushed, looking away from his smug smirk.

"I _did_," she admitted in a mumble, knowing now she couldn't lie to him. Her gaze snapped back to him with a scowl as she added, "But after what you did to my brother, I could care _less_ about you! All I ever prayed for was that somebody would get to you before _I_ did, because you weren't gonna see any mercy from me!"

"Oh, quit talking big," he sneered. "You couldn't kill me if you _wanted_ to."

"I _want_ to," she ground out, her emerald glare boring into his face as she flexed her hands. "And I _could_."

Sylar saw the anger, the hate…the _murder_ in her eyes and couldn't hold back his smirk. At that moment, he really believed she _could_ kill him, but it wasn't to avenge her brother. She was hiding behind that excuse to mask the _real_ reason she was after him. He promised himself he'd find out what it was, but he decided to go about that a different way. He wouldn't cheat, using Lydia's power again. He'd get it out of her, and he knew they'd _both_ enjoy it when he did. And if she didn't, at least _he'd_ get to enjoy it.

"Alright," he murmured, still smirking. "You think you can kill me?"

"I _know_ it," she growled, never breaking eye contact.

"Then show me," he replied and her eyes snapped wide in surprise. "What? Changed your mind? Or have you come to terms with the fact that _you can't kill me_?"

That sent her fuming, and just as he let go of her hold on her, she threw a hand up, pressed it against his chest and a Shield Pulse sent him flying up, his back hitting the ceiling before he crashed into the coffee table in front of the couch. Tatiana stared at him in wide-eyed terror as she scrambled to sit upright. She just stared at him for a moment, one of his arms bent the wrong way, a leg twisted almost completely around, his neck obviously broken as he lay face down in the splintered wood of the table.

"Holy shit," she breathed, taking in the sight of his broken body. "Holy shit, what have I done?!"

"Nothing."

She gasped in disbelief at his muffled reply and stared on in even more disbelief when she heard cracks and snaps from him as he started moving. He pulled his leg back into place to stand, his back facing her as he bent his arm back the right way and saving the best for last, her turned toward her to snap his neck back into place, rolling his head from side to side and rolling his shoulders as well before looking back at her with a devious smirk.

"Come on," he taunted, holding his arms up a bit. "That the best you can do?"

Tatiana's shock boiled up into anger beyond words as her eyes shrunk down into a glare and her upper lip curled on one end, slightly. Sylar lifted a brow at her, now silently taunting her to bring it with his smirk as she only glared at him as a predator glares at its prey. She slowly stood from the couch, neither one of them taking their gaze from the other, their expressions never changing as she stepped toward him. He backed up toward the door, lowering his hands.

"Shall we take this outside?" he wondered. She responded with a Shield Pulse toward his head which he ducked, causing the pulse to make a dent in the wall. "Guess not."

"You jerk," she growled as he stood tall again, facing her. "You did that on purpose, didn't you? You want me to get _really_ angry?" She shot another Shield Pulse at him, which he quickly dodged, making it hit a different part of the wall and denting it again. "Well, I hope you're happy, because I'm _pissed_!"

"Good," Sylar crooned through a smirk, making her eyes twitch closed for a second as she fumed. "Maybe _now_ you'll get serious?"

"You _want_ to die, don't you?" she wondered, lowly. "Soon as I find that sweet spot that'll kill you forever, I'll make sure you _never_ come back."

"I doubt you'll find it," he retorted. "I've hidden it well."

She said nothing as she lifted a hand and clawed at the air, rolling her wrist, but instead of her palm facing up, it faced down. A shield formed around Sylar's head only, keeping him from breathing. He quickly lifted a hand and threw her across the room with his telekinesis, causing the shield to drop when she hit the wall and fell to the floor on all fours. He gasped for air, quickly recovering and marching toward her.

"That's better," he smirked, lifting several pieces of the splintered coffee table into the air and pointing them toward her. "Let's see how quick on the draw you are."

He flicked his fingers out quickly and the pieces of wood went flying toward her. She only stood and glared at him with a small smirk of her own, and just before the splinters hit, a shield covered her body, an inch from her skin. The wood bounced off of the shield, but the shield didn't fall as she moved, lifting her hand and hitting him with another Shield Pulse. Instead of dodging it this time, he quickly caught it, mid-air, with his telekinesis and struggled to hold it back as she pushed it forward.

A knock at the door made them both freeze, Tatiana dropping her shields and Sylar looking to the door.

"Gabriel?"

"Oh, crap," he muttered, and looked around the apartment before looking to Tatiana, coming up with an idea. "Take off your shirt."

"What?!"

"Just do it!" Sylar hissed, peeling off his shirt as there was another knock at the door.

"Gabriel?"

"Coming, Mrs. Hackett!" Sylar called in a sweet voice as he tossed his shirt away, flicking his fingers at the couch to fling the cushions off and the bed out as he approached the door, messing up his hair.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Tatiana hissed, but instead of answering her he flicked his fingers again and she was flung onto the bed, and just as he grabbed the door knob he yanked her jacket off and it was flung across the room.

He opened the door and grinned, panting, "Hi, Mrs. Hackett. Something wrong?"

The old woman in the doorway frowned, looking him up and down before peeking into the room and saying, "I heard such a ruckus---"

She cut herself off when she saw Tatiana sit up on the pull-out bed, she sheets a mess and Mrs. Hackett's eyes went wide as she looked back at Sylar who only lifted his brows in wonder at the woman.

"I-I'm sorry, Gabriel," she sputtered, backing into the hallway again. "I'll just…leave you two alone now."

"I'm sorry about all the noise, Mrs. Hackett," he smiled, starting to slowly close the door. "I know it must have scared you. We'll try to keep it down."

"Y-Yes," she nodded, her face turning bed red. "Do, please."

She didn't bother saying good bye as she hurried down the hall to her apartment and Sylar shut the door, leaning back on it with a sigh of relief.

"Great," Tatiana snapped, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff as she still sat on the bed. "Now she thinks I'm _sleeping_ with you."

"Better _that_ than her thinking we're _killing_ each other," Sylar shot back, walking toward the place he'd flung his shirt to put it back on. "She'd call the police if she thought that."

Tatiana sneered as she looked away from him, but suddenly turned back to him and snapped, "What the hell were you trying to accomplish earlier?"

He said nothing for a moment as he pulled on his shirt but when he headed toward the kitchen he said, "I was trying to get you to be serious, to see if you'd actually kill me." He gave a smirk as he started unloading the groceries they'd picked up. "You did."

"So, what now?" she wondered sarcastically, not moving from her spot. "You're gonna let me kill you?"

"No," he smirked. "You haven't told me the _real_ reason you're coming after me yet." Tatiana's eyes shot wide at him just as he looked at her for her reaction. "Didn't think I'd figure it out, did you?"

She said nothing as she looked away, knowing that lying to him would do no good. He knew when she was lying.

"I'm not gonna pry it out of you," he assured her, making her look back at him in shock again, but he continued putting things away. "You'll tell me, soon enough."

"I doubt that," she snapped, turning to flop back on the bed.

Sylar used his telekinesis to put something on a high shelf as he murmured, "I don't."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," he lied, flatly as he stepped toward the fridge and moved it effortlessly with his mind to look behind it.

The sound of grinding as the fridge moved caught Tatiana's attention and she shot up to look to the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" she frowned, shuffling from the bed and heading to the kitchen as Sylar moved to look behind the fridge.

"Starting up the fridge," he smirked, lifting a hand as little streams of blue electricity flowed around it.

Tatiana frowned deeper as she came up to look at what he was looking at, her head beneath his. He shot a small bolt of lightening at the plug and the sound of the fridge going on made him smirk a little wider as Tatiana stared at the appliance with wide eyes.

"Whoa," she breathed and turned her head to look at him to say something, but when she realized how close she was to him, she closed her mouth and stood tall, away from him to cross her arms over her chest, lift a sardonic brow and shoot out, "So who'd you take _that_ one from?"

"A girl I knew," he shrugged, but took note that the thought of Elle clenched his heart in guilt.

"Let me guess…" Tatiana hummed, mockingly as she looked around in false thought before blurting, "She's dead, right?"

Sylar gave her a glare at her tone and what she was implying. Granted, it was true, but she didn't have to be a bitch about it.

"Yes," he nearly growled, lifting a hand to move the fridge back into place, making Tatiana glance at it as it moved before she looked back at him. "But I took her power without killing her."

"Oh, well, that's a relief," the blonde retorted mockingly, making him glare at her as he stepped toward her, but she stood her ground.

"It's complicated to explain," he snapped, starting to load the cold groceries into the now working fridge.

"Why not _try_ first, before you say that?" she shot back and as he turned from the fridge he lifted a hand and used his Puppetry power to close her mouth. This time, instead of trying to fight it, she glared at him as he gave a small smirk.

"I love being able to do that," he purred, making her roll her eyes, but he only kept her mouth shut and said, "It's a story that would take _way_ too long to explain right now, and _I'm_ hungry."

He released her mouth, and she jerked forward a bit, her mouth opening from the lack of invisible force that had been there a moment ago.

"You hungry?" he wondered, turning back to loading the fridge.

"No," she snapped, turning to head back to the pull-out and he smirked as a small tingle ran through him. He could tell, this one was going to be _really_ fun.

* * *

**A/N:** oh my gosh, this chapter was so much fun to write. i couldn't resist it! lol! reviews?


	4. Unwanted Visits

**A/N:** sorry this is takin so long. between my flash drive gremlin and work, it's hard gettin chappie's out. but here's a new one! enjoy!

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_**Chapter 4: Unwanted Visits**_

Tatiana screamed as she hurled the coffee pot toward Sylar as he sat on the couch. It stopped just before hitting his head as he still read the book in front of him, flipping a page as Tatiana heaved in anger from the kitchen, glaring at him.

"You need to control that temper of yours," he said, the pot still hovering in the air behind his head as he didn't look at her.

"And _you_ need to control your annoyance level!" she spat back, still glaring at him.

"Think fast," he called, and the coffee pot flew back at her at a high speed but she only formed a shield around her body, causing the pot to shatter against it. Sylar frowned as he still read his book and said, "You owe me a coffee pot."

"I hate you," she ground out, the shield dropping as she walked toward a gap in the fridge where a broom and dust pan were stashed.

"So you said," he replied, flipping a page in his book.

Tatiana glared at him as she swept up the mess and sighed, tiredly before looking over her shoulder at him. Unable to hold back her curiosity, she asked, "What are you reading?"

"Cell by Stephen King," he replied, not looking from the book.

"What's that about?" she wondered, still sweeping.

"Everyone talking on their cell phones go crazy and start killing each other," Sylar smirked, slightly.

"Perfect literature for a serial killer," Tatiana muttered, dumping the remnants of the coffee pot into the trash.

"_Former_ serial killer," Sylar corrected, his super hearing catching her remark and she cursed under her breath.

"Potato, pot-ah-to," she shrugged, putting the broom and dust pan away and yawning.

"You didn't sleep at all last night, did you?" he asked, flipping a page in his book.

"Considering everything that was going on at the carnival, no," Tatiana retorted, sitting at the table in the kitchen. She didn't want to be in the same room with him, and the couch wasn't big enough for her liking.

"You should get some sleep," he suggested, shutting the book and standing to head toward the hall. "I know _I'm_ tired."

"Good for you," Tatiana muttered, spinning her mug of decaf coffee on the table. She didn't move from the table as she held the mug still and looked into the brown liquid, thinking. What was she doing here with the man that killed her brother? What was keeping her from walking out the door or killing him right there when his guard was down?

_You want an answer to the one question you've been asking yourself for years, Ana_, she told herself and sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. _What the hell made a relatively nice boy like Gabriel Gray turn into Sylar?_

"Here are some fresh sheets for the bed," Sylar called, tossing a set of said sheets and a pillow onto the couch. "Sleep tight."

"Sleep with one eye open," she called back, standing and heading to the couch.

Sylar gave a scoff before heading back down the hall to his room and Tatiana moved the sheets, pillow and cushions from the couch to pull the bed out again. She grunted and growled as she struggled to pull it out, making Sylar peek at her from the hallway entrance. He smirked and stayed put as he lifted a hand and flicked his fingers in the air, using his telekinesis to pull it out. The slack made Tatiana fall back into the splinters of wood from the coffee table and she landed on her rear, her legs under the mattress as the legs flipped out to keep it up. She turned a glare at him and he only smirked a little wider.

"Sorry," he shrugged and Tatiana sneered at him as she moved to get up.

"Ow!"

She fell back into the pile of wood again and looked down at her hand with a frown as Sylar stepped toward her and knelt down next to her.

"What happened?" he asked and she held her hand out to show him a thick splinter jabbed into the palm of her hand. He took her hand in one of his, making her shoot her emerald gaze at him as he lifted his other hand above hers, saying, "Hold still."

The splinter slowly slid from her skin as she gritted her teeth against the pain, closing her eyes as well. Sylar floated the half blood-soaked splinter in the air, twirling it around to examine it.

"Well, that one's a doozy, isn't it?" he smirked, looking back at Tatiana hand as she opened her eyes to look at him in wonder. He flicked his hand to the side and the splinter flew through the air and stuck into the wall of the kitchen as he started standing, still holding her hand in one of his, gently. "Come on. I've got some iodine in the bathroom."

He held out his other hand as he stood to help her up and she glanced at it before taking it. She stood and had to take a small step back when she almost bumped into him. He was still holding her now slightly bleeding hand as they looked to each other at the same time, their gazes locking for a moment. Tatiana felt her heart flutter just a touch before he looked away and led her toward the bathroom. He pulled her in front of the sink, the mirror opening as he turned on the water and a bottle floated from the cabinet for him to grab and open.

"Damn, that's a lot of blood," Tatiana breathed, not looking from her hand as Sylar took it again and poured it onto her palm. "Mother of---!"

She bit her lip to keep from spouting out any more curses before he pulled her hand under the cold water and she relaxed a bit, letting go to her lower lip.

"Guess I shoulda warned you it was gonna hurt," he admitted, pulling a wash cloth from the small rack above the toilet to wrap her hand in.

"Heads up would've been nice," she shot back and couldn't help but notice how gentle he was being as he held her hand in the both of his. She watched him in wonder as he dabbed around the tiny wound, drying her hand before looking to the open cabinet again.

"I think I have a box of band aids here…" he trailed off as he started rummaging through the things on the shelves but she only pulled her hand away, making him look back at her.

"It's not bleeding anymore," she assured him, stepping back toward the hallway. "I don't need a bandage."

"Ok," he shrugged as she turned and headed into the living room again. He followed her to watch her set up the bed for a moment before calling, "I'll be down the hall if you need anything."

"I won't," she replied, not looking at him and he turned to head to his, but she called, "Thank you." He stopped and looked at her as she stood tall and looked at him. "Thanks for getting that splinter out."

"You're welcome," he nodded, choosing not to retort back with a sarcastic remark about her behavior toward him. "Sweet dreams."

Tatiana nodded and he headed back down the hall as she turned to situate her bed and mutter to herself, "My dreams are never sweet."

* * *

_Tina Davis screamed as she stepped into the shop to see a body lying on the ground, blood pooling from the wound on the skull. The note had said he was going to the shop she used to work at to see someone that said he knew about his ability, and probably hers too, and now she stared wide-eyed and disbelieving at the body of her brother on the ground in front of her._

"_Brian!" she screamed again, kneeling next to the body and rolling him over to look over his pale, dead face. "Brian! Get up!"_

_She shook him, but he didn't budge and she set her head against his chest, willing him to breathe, but he still didn't move._

"_It's evolution."_

_She gasped and shot her gaze up to see Sylar standing in front of her, blood dripping from his hands as he shrugged._

"_I'm the natural progression of the species," he replied simply, as if he weren't covered in her brother's blood and she wasn't holding her dead sibling in her arms._

"_Shut up you psychopath!" she spat at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. "He was my brother!"_

"_Tina..."_

_She gasped and stared wide eyes down at her brother as he looked up at her, his glasses askew over his face and the dripping of the blood from his wound could be heard as the brother and sister stared at each other._

"_Tina, what are you doing with him?"_

* * *

Tatiana screamed as she sat straight up on the pullout bed she was sleeping on, moonlight filling the room as she breathed heavily and looked around, not remembering where she was. She placed a hand over her heart to slow its pounding as her other, shaking hand wiped tears from her face that had leaked out during the dream. She ran the hand through her hair, sweat beading over her skin and she jumped when she heard footsteps heading down the hall.

"Hey, Blondie, you ok?" Sylar asked, looking around, calmly as he stepped toward her bed.

She instantly glared at him, but didn't fail to notice that he was only wearing a pair of jeans before she snapped, "I'm fine. It was just a dream now leave me alone."

He felt a slight tingle as he watched her flop onto her side, her back facing him and she gritted her teeth as she heard his footsteps coming closer.

"Sounded more like a nightmare," he replied, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at her back. "You sure you're ok?"

"I just said I was, didn't I?" Tatiana ground out. "I always have a nightmare at least once when I sleep, so this isn't new to me. Now go---"

She stopped mid sentence, a small chill running down her spine and she sat up, staring into space as Sylar frowned at her in wonder.

"What's wrong?" he asked but she held a hand up to silence him making him jerk his face back as she almost smacked him. "Hey---!"

"Shut up!" she hissed, and he glared at her but did what she said as she still stared at the sheets then looked to the kitchen, lowering her hand and asking, "Were you expecting company?"

"No," he replied with a frown and realized that this whole time she'd sensed another person with abilities around. He shot up and turned to the kitchen where Tatiana had kept her gaze and she slowly stood from the bed as he said, "So, you can sense people _with_ abilities around…can you sense _what_ their ability is?"

"What, and make it easy?" she retorted with a slight smirk, still feeling that chill running up and down her spine.

"Right," Sylar scoffed with a smirk of his own and the only noise that filled the room after that was the dripping of the kitchen faucet.

That caught his attention and made him frown. That faucet never leaked, and even if it had, the sudden rapidity of the water leaking out was unusual.

"You still feel it?" he asked Tatiana and she only nodded as he glanced at her before he turned back to staring at the kitchen.

That damn dripping noise was driving him insane! He growled and marched to the kitchen, reaching for the faucet and gripping the handle to make sure it was shut off completely. Tatiana frowned at him as he leaned over the sink but the frown disappeared when a hand shot out and gripped Sylar's throat. Tatiana ran to him as he choked for air and looked into the water in disbelief to find out where the hand was coming from. A pool of water was all that was in the sink and she suddenly realized that was what she'd sensed.

She quickly lifted a hand and twirled a small disc shaped shield in the air over her hand and flicked her fingers toward the hand made of water. It was cut in half and dissolved from the solid hand to water as Sylar gasped for air, coughing a bit.

"Thanks," he panted, recovering quickly.

"Don't thank me," she retorted, making him look at her with a frown but he didn't have time to question her as the leaking faucet suddenly poured water into the sink. Sylar held an arm toward Tatiana to back her up as he stepped back as well when the water overflowed from the sink and slowly worked its way up to form the figure of a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes with a tall and slender body.

"Oh, Tracy," Sylar smirked as she glared at him, her hair damp from using her ability. "Lemme guess, you're Noah's errand girl, right?"

"He asked a friend for a favor," Tracy retorted, lifting her hands to reveal them chilling into ice, cold steam rising from them. "And I'm happy to oblige."

"Hate to burst your bubble, Miss Ice Queen, but _I_ saw him first," Tatiana spat out, shoving Sylar's arm out of her way as she marched between them and Tracy gave her a puzzled frown as Sylar rolled his eyes. "Nobody's killing him but me."

"Please, ladies," Sylar called, making them both look at him with frowns as he lifted his hands, presenting himself as he assured them, "There's plenty of me to go around."

"You arrogant bastard!" Tatiana spat as she lifted a hand and sent a Shield Pulse at him. He hadn't expected it and was thrown against the wall behind him so hard that he crashed through it and into the hallway of the building. Tatiana caught Tracy marching toward him and grabbed her wrist to pull her back and shoot out, "Did you not hear me?! I called dibs! He killed my brother!"

"He killed Nathan Petrelli!" Tracy shot back.

"I don't give a shit about _your_ baggage! I have my _own_!" Tatiana spat and Shield Pulsed her in the same direction she had Sylar.

He was just recovering, getting up and dusting himself off when Tracy was shot at him and he was thrown with her through the railing of the ledge they stood on and whizzed past the flights of stairs. A splat, accompanied by a few crunches sounded, and water soaked the floor around Sylar's limp body. Tatiana ran to the edge where she'd thrown the two and quickly formed a shield to stand on and float toward the last level where she saw the water around Sylar gathering up again and Sylar, himself, was beginning to stand and fix himself up.

"Sylar!" she called, half-way to him and he looked up at her as she called, "Electricity!"

He gave a frown but soon realized he was standing in water…water that was forming into Tracy Strauss again. He pushed himself up a bit so that he was floating above the water and sent a bolt of blue lightening at a puddle of water. A scream sounded just before they both saw Tracy's body appear, convulsing as the blue current ran through her body until she finally collapsed unconscious on the floor. Tatiana stared at her as she floated next to Sylar, he still in the air as well as he looked down at the body.

"Good idea," he nodded, before looking at her and frowning slightly. Sensing he was staring at her she looked at him with wide, emerald eyes.

"What?" she shrugged.

"I didn't know you could fly on those things," he admitted and she rolled her eyes.

"I can do _a lot_ with 'these things'," she retorted. A door suddenly opened slowly and they both shot up toward the ceiling before they were seen and both gently landed on the ledge leading to Sylar's front door.

"Well, we can't stay here," he sighed and Tatiana looked at him again.

"And just _where_ are we gonna go, genius?" she asked as he started into the apartment again through the hole Tatiana had made, the blonde at his heels.

"Anywhere we want," he couldn't help but smirk as he lifted something from the counter and it slowly turned gold, making Tatiana's eyes shoot wide in disbelief. "We'll have the money for it, anyway. I've got the Midas touch."

* * *

**A/N:** we needed more action. reviews?


	5. Personal Bank Roll

**A/N:**new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 5: Personal Bank Roll**_

"Whoa," Tatiana breathed as she and Sylar stood in front of a tall hotel building, her emerald eyes wide in astonishment as Sylar paid the taxi driver behind them. She suddenly sighed and shook her head as he stepped next to her and she said, "We'll never get in."

"Who do you think you're talkin' to, Blondie?" Sylar smirked, slinging his arm around her shoulders and she looked at him with a glare.

"Just what the hell are you doing?" she spat as he walked her toward the hotel door.

"Just follow my lead and everything will be fine, alright?" he smirked when he spotted the door man.

"Are you visiting someone, Sir?" the door man asked as Sylar jammed a hand into his pocket.

"Actually we were planning on staying here," he replied, pulling the hand from his pocket a second later and holding up a dollar bill to turn it into gold right in front of the man and before he could say anything more he jammed it into his hand, saying, "Hold onto that for me, will ya?"

Sylar and Tatiana continued walking, past the stunned doorman and right up to the door where he pulled his arm off of the blonde's shoulders and opened the door for her.

"After you, sweetie," he smiled with a wink and she sneered, rolling her eyes as she walked into the lobby.

She kept her gaze away from everything expensive looking. She wanted to look like she belonged there, even if her clothes said otherwise. She sneered again when she felt Sylar's arm snake around her waist this time to lead her to the concierge desk and he rummaged through his pocket again.

"Penthouse," he merely blurted, making Tatiana _and_ the clerk look up at him in shock but he only looked to the clerk expectantly, repeating, "Penthouse."

"Sir, the penthouse suite is for listed guests only," the clerk replied and Sylar gave a smirk as Tatiana looked around, hoping he wouldn't make a scene. He pulled his hand from his pocket with one of his last hundred dollar bills and placed a finger on it to slide it across the desk to him.

"The name's Ben Franklin, friend," he smirked and the clerk only shook his head, to Sylar's and Tatiana's surprise, but Sylar's smirk grew wider as the bill he was still touching slowly turned to gold. "How 'bout Knox? That name on your list?"

The clerk stared at the bill in wide-eyed shock, but greed made him glance around to make sure no one saw him take the bill and slip it into his jacket pocket before typing something into the computer on his desk.

"Actually, Mr. Knox, I see your name listed right here," he lied, flatly before handing two key cards to them. "If you need anything, ask for Jacob and I'll take care of your needs, Sir."

"Thanks, Jake," Sylar smiled, saluting with his key card as he grabbed Tatiana's hand and pulled her toward the elevator behind them.

Once in the elevator, Tatiana yanked her hand from his and crossed her arms in a huff, muttering, "I see you have no problem _lying_, Mr. I've-Changed."

"Oh, don't be so touchy," he snapped, swiped his card through the slot next to the console and the elevator started moving. "Lying's a part of life. Everyone does it whether they want to or not. All the good intentions in the world can't keep you from lying at least _once_ in your life. And I'm not talkin' about the little white ones, I'm talkin' one big, fat black hole of a lie."

"That's really deep, 'Mr. Knox'," Tatiana retorted and Sylar rolled his eyes at her as he leaned on the wall of the elevator. "Why would you use Knox, anyway? Sounds like a dirtbag name. Oh, wait, look who I'm talking to."

"Knox, as in _Fort Knox_," he explained. "Jeez, you really _are_ blonde, aren't you?"

"Ex_cuse_ me for not paying attention to your word play when we're using bribery to get into a fancy hotel for _one whole night_," Tatiana shot back just as the elevator stopped.

Sylar pushed off the wall with a smirk and stalked closer to her just as the doors opened and Tatiana gave a quick frown as she tried backing away from him, only to find herself pinned between the wall and his body which stopped an inch away from hers.

"Who said this was just gonna be one night?" he murmured, and his super hearing caught her swallow as she stared at him with wide eyes, followed by her heart thumping faster in her chest.

"We can't stay here forever, Sylar," she breathed, and his gaze shifted across her face. "Everyone knows about us Specials now. The government will come looking for all of us to round us up. They'll think we're dangerous."

Sylar searched her gaze for a moment before turning toward the open doors and stalking into the dark suite, using his telekinesis to flip on the lights as she followed him, quickly and he said, "They won't come after us if we stay here, hidden."

"What 'hidden'?!" Tatiana shot back as the elevator doors closed. "You just used your powers in front of two people already to get into the penthouse suite! What the hell is _your_ definition of lying low?!"

"Nobody's gonna come after us!" Sylar shot out, stopping and turning to her with an angry glare over his face.

"Not after _me_, maybe," she continued. "But everyone still thinks _you're_ a serial killer, remember?!"

That cooled Sylar's irritation down instantly. She was right. No one else really thought he was different. Only a handful of people knew and believed him. The others would probably try to kill him if they had the chance, and he knew Claire would probably pin him as the worst of all to be locked up.

"Where's the phone?" he asked himself, looking around the suite as Tatiana frowned at him in wonder. "I gotta make some calls."

Realizing what he was doing, Tatiana bowed her head and shook it with a slight sigh before saying, "They won't believe you."

Sylar stopped dead in the living room and looked to the lights of the city outside the window as she stepped toward him.

"How long have you been killing and taking powers from your own kind and you think they'll believe you've changed all of a sudden?" she continued, stopping behind him. "If _I_ still don't believe you what makes you think any of the rest of us will?"

He sighed in exhaustion and turned to sink into the couch he was standing next to, Tatiana not moving and just watching him as he placed his forehead on the heels of his hands, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"I really screwed things up for myself, didn't I?" he murmured, not expecting an answer.

"It's gonna be hard to fill up this hole you've dug for yourself, _that's_ for sure," Tatiana muttered, still not moving as she looked around the room. Sylar didn't reply and she decided to leave him alone, announcing, "I'm goin' to bed. I'll see you in the morning."

He said nothing as she walked away, thinking of all the possible scenarios that might happen. All the Specials would rally together against him and try to get him locked up or killed. Of course, there was Peter and Matt who knew he'd changed. They might step up to his rescue, not to mention Emma, whom he'd saved from that Puppet guy at the carnival. But still, four against God only knew how many other Specials were out there? And it was three, really, because Matt was still on the fence about him, even though he'd looked into his mind. Either way, it was a long shot. Everyone he'd wronged, everything he'd done would come back to haunt him like Tatiana came back to avenge her brother.

"Sylar!"

He was jolted from his thoughts at the sound of Tatiana's angry shout and he lifted his head from his hands with a frown toward the bedroom on his right. The blonde marched from the room with a glare and stopped in front of him, blocking the view of the city in the window.

"What's wrong?" he asked, truly concerned.

"There's only one bed," she shot out and his frown deepened slightly.

"So?" he shrugged.

"I'm not sleeping in the came bed with you!" she yelled.

"You don't _have_ to!" he shot back. "I'll sleep on the couch! God! Calm yourself down, will ya?!"

"I'll calm down when you're dead," she snapped, marching back to the room and he sighed in exasperation as he shifted to lay on the couch, not bothering with pillows or blankets.

"She needs to get laid or something," he muttered, closing his eyes to sleep, and that thought made him smile as he thought, _Maybe if she gets over trying to kill me I can help out with that?_

* * *

_Tina Davis screamed as she took a step back and rammed into the man standing behind her at the sight of the body in front of her, blood pouring from the wound in his head. She shook her head in disbelief, turning into the body behind her as its arms wrapped around her, holding her close._

"_It's alright, Tina."_

_She gasped and looked up at Gabriel Gray with wide, watery eyes, shaking her head again and trying to back away, but her feet were nailed in place as his gaze lowered to hers._

"_It'll be alright," he smiled warmly, his brown eyes shining through his thick-framed, black glasses. "You've got __me__. I'll take care of you. I promise."_

"_No!" she screamed, trying to shove away from him, but either he was holding her too tightly, or she just didn't have the strength to fight him. "You killed him! Get away!"_

"_I__ killed him, Blondie."_

_She gasped again when she looked over her shoulder, beyond her brother's body to see Sylar, his hands covered in blood as he stood tall from kneeling over the body. His glare turned to her, a predatory gaze that made her shrink into Gabriel's arms a little more, his arms tightening around her._

"_Give credit where credit's due, alright?" he smirked, evilly._

_She shuddered before shooting her gaze between the two men with identical faces. The same man, but two different men. She shoved Gabriel away from her and slapped her hands over her ears to bow her head and scream._

* * *

"Hey!" Sylar shouted, sitting on the bed and shaking Tatiana by the shoulders as she screamed and thrashed on the mattress, her eyes shut, still dreaming. "Tatiana! Wake up! You're having a nightmare! Wake the hell up, already!"

He tried to shake her but keep her from thrashing at the same time. It only made it worse. She started kicking to be free of the obvious person holding her, but Sylar wasn't having it. He wouldn't use his powers on her when she was asleep. Waking up to being vulnerable like that would only make her angry, and she was freaking out enough as it was. He finally pulled her toward him to sit her up and held her close, hoping that would keep her from thrashing, even if it didn't wake her up.

"Come on, Tina," he whispered into her ear as she calmed her thrashing. "Wake up and tell me what's wrong."

She eventually stopped moving and he frowned, wondering if she'd woken up or was still sleeping. He gently pushed her away only to find her limp in his hands and he sighed in relief before starting to lay her down again. He tried pulling away but a hand clamped down onto his wrist and he looked to her face, finding her frowning in her sleep as her hand held onto his. She pulled his arm around her waist, making him fall onto the bed and lay behind her, just avoiding crushing her as he landed.

_Ok, does she know it's __me__ she's keeping here?_ he wondered, but he soon found he didn't care when he caught the faint shadow of a smile over her lips. He stared at her for a moment before giving a small smile himself and settling behind her, his arm still wrapped around her waist as she still held it there.

"Sweet dreams, Tatiana," he whispered into her hair before closing his eyes and falling asleep himself.

* * *

_The Next Morning..._

Tatiana groaned at the sunlight coming in through the window in the bedroom. Frowning she shifted to turn onto her other side, away from the sun and snuggled into the body next to her with a small smile. Her smile disappeared as her eyes shot open, and she remembered she _should_ have been alone. With a gasp she sat up to see Sylar sleeping on his side in front of her, one hand in a half fist and partially tucked under his cheek. She was thankful when she noticed they both still had their clothes on.

"What the hell is he doing in bed with me?" she muttered bitterly, still staring at him. "He's got a perfectly good couch in the living room of this damn expensive hotel room."

She suddenly tilted her head to see his face a little better as he still slept and watched him. He looked so peaceful and innocent, you wouldn't have believed he'd been a serial killer and an all-around miscreant. He stirred slightly, but didn't wake up and she swallowed as she still stared at him then sighed as she allowed her impulse to get the better of her.

Flipping some of her tangled hair from her face she laid back down and stared at him as she mirrored his position as he still didn't wake. Her eyes scanned his face, taking in every peaceful feature while he still slept. If he caught her doing this when he was awake, he would have teased her to no end.

_That should make you stop right now, Ana,_ she told herself. _He killed your brother, and if he doesn't even remember who you are, he won't care about how you felt about him back then._

Sylar groaned and stirred again, making Tatiana shoot wider at him as he frowned and turned onto his back, lifting a hand to his face and rubbing his eyes. She quickly shut her eyes and lowered her chin into her chest a little as he sighed and slowly opened his eyes to look around. He suddenly remembered where he was and looked to Tatiana as she pretended to sleep, his sensitive hearing picking up her breathing pattern and making him smirk.

_Time to have a little fun_, he thought to himself, still smirking. He shifted onto his side again and scooted a little closer to her, chancing to slip his arm back around her waist where it had been before. His smirk grew a little when he saw the flicker of a frown over her brow before it disappeared and she didn't move.

"Hey, Blondie," he whispered. "Anyone ever tell you you're cute when you're asleep? Like a little angel. Part that really sucks is you eventually wake up, then you're damn annoying."

"You jerk!" Tatiana snapped, her eyes shooting open as she reared a hand back to punch him in the face. Sylar laughed when he caught her hand before she hit him and pulled it down between them as she glared at him with burning emerald eyes and he only smirked down at her. "What are you doing in my bed?!"

"_Your_ bed?" he chuckled. "Remember who's paying for this room?"

"You said I could sleep in the bed, now what are you doing here?!" she spat, trying to pull her wrist free of his grip.

"You had a nightmare," he replied, making her stop and look up at him. "I came in to try to wake you up but you kept kicking and screaming. When you finally calmed down, I went to leave but you clamped your hand onto my wrist and wrapped my arm around you. I've been here ever since."

Tatiana's eyes scanned his face. He was telling the truth. She swallowed, gently pulling her arm back to free her wrist and he let her go as their gazes never wavered.

"You have nightmare's often?" he wondered in a murmur and all she could do was nod, her voice deciding it didn't want to work. "What are they about?"

"My---" she choked then cleared her throat and continued, "My brother. I found him in the watch shop and I've had nightmares about it ever since."

"Oh," Sylar muttered, lowering his gaze from hers as he sat up and she gave a slight frown but said nothing and didn't move. "You hungry?"

She opened her mouth to reply but her stomach spoke for her and growled loudly before she could shut her mouth again. Sylar turned with a slight smirk and an eye brow lift as she placed a hand over her stomach and muttered, "Yes."

"I'll call room service," he smirked, getting up from the bed. "Bacon and eggs sound good?"

"Whatever," she shrugged, sitting up and not being able to help watching him head out of the room and toward the living room.

She had to admit that when he had shifted closer to her like that her heart had skipped a beat and she thought for sure he was going to kiss her or something. Part of her was very glad he didn't. _Part_ of her.

_Stop it, Ana_, she told herself as she swung her legs off the bed to sit on the edge. _You're gonna kill him. He killed your brother and he hurt you, too. Don't forget that. No matter how much he says he's changed, he's still a serial killer._

"Hey?"

Tatiana jumped and looked to the doorway as Sylar called to her.

"Orange juice ok with you?" he asked and she took a moment before nodding. He gave a crooked smile before disappearing again and she felt her heart clench with some unknown feeling.

"That's how it was when you met him," she told herself and lowered her head into her hands, sighing in exasperation. "Ana, you are so sick!"

* * *

**A/N:** oh, we'll get there, don't you worry. you probably already guessed what it is though. i'm not very subtle sometimes, and i'm trying to draw out her _real_ reason for hunting down a little more, but i think i lost it. eh, i'll write on anyway. LOL! reviews?


	6. Got Your Attention

**A/N:** heroes...cancelled *sobs like baby* how will we live without the Sexy Sylar Glare? it lives...through our fanfics. new chappie! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 6: Got Your Attention**_

"That _isn't_ gonna become a constant thing, ya know?" Tatiana muttered, sitting back in her chair at the table, an empty plate in front of her and Sylar frowned up at her in confusion.

"What isn't?" he wondered, genuinely.

"Us…in the same bed," she elaborated, hesitantly before looking back at her plate and picking her fork at her food. "We're not doing that _every_ night."

"Oh, why not," Sylar smirked sarcastically, leaning toward her on the table. "It was kinda nice, wasn't it? Best sleep _I've_ ever had. You can't tell me it wasn't good for you too."

"Knock it off, you sick bastard," she snapped. "Quit making sleep sound like sex. It was _sleep_."

"But it was the best you've had in a while, right?" he insisted, sounding a little more serious. "You haven't slept really well since…"

Tatiana jerked one of her hands up, index finger pointed down and she twirled it in the air, one of her shields forming a band around Sylar's upper-arms to tie him to the chair before he could react or say anything else. Her other hand came up and she pointed to his face to form another shield over his mouth to keep him quiet as she stood from her chair, her hands leaning on the table to lean forward and glare at him as he smirked with his eyes.

"Quit it," she ground out through her teeth, glaring at him in rage. "Quit trying to relate to me. Quit using that ability you _stole_ from Lydia to try to figure out what I want to make me feel better. You can't _possibly_ relate to me and _nothing_ you have to offer will make me feel better, so stop…it…now."

She sat back down and the shields holding Sylar dropped, allowing him to roll his shoulders and crack his neck to relax and smirk as he leaned on the table.

"Fair enough," he shrugged, looking at her plate and holding his hand toward it. It shot across the table and into his hand, making Tatiana jump and look at him with wide eyes as he stood and picked up his own plate. "Breakfast was pretty good, huh?"

"Whatever," Tatiana shrugged, looking around the room as he headed toward the rolling tray next to the door as she sighed and asked, "So what now? We just sit here, cooped up and wait till it's ok to leave?"

"You wanna go somewhere?" he asked, heading toward the couch to flop onto it, the remote shooting to his hand so he could flip on the TV as he sat. "Go ahead. But I'd be careful who you use your powers around."

He flipped on the TV and Tatiana sneered as she sat back in her chair with a slight pout, muttering, "What's the point, then."

Sylar let out a slight chuckle before flipping the channels and groaning, "Aw hell."

"What?" Tatiana frowned in wonder, standing and heading toward the couch to lean behind him to his right and look at the TV. Sylar only gestured to the screen and she slumped when she saw the image, grumbling, "Aw, hell is right."

"What the hell is he doing?" Sylar wondered, leaning forward on his knees, still looking at the image of Noah Bennett in front of a group of reporters. "He's holding a press conference on _us_? His daughter's one of us!"

"I take it _that's_ his daughter?" Tatiana nodded toward the blonde the camera panned on for a moment as she stood next to Noah.

"Yeah," Sylar sighed, sitting back.

"Wait," she frowned, looking closer at the TV. "Isn't that the guy that was with us at your apartment?"

"Yeah."

"And he's not one of us?"

"Nope."

"So, how is his daughter a Special, but _he's not_?"

"She's adopted."

Tatiana nodded before looking back at the TV.

"_Not all of these Specials are dangerous_," Noah explained to the crowd of reporters. "_My daughter, and my friend, Tracy Strauss, are examples of that._"

"_She_ looks familiar," Tatiana muttered when the camera panned on another, taller blonde on the other side of him.

"_We'd tried to contain the dangerous ones, and keep the existence of these Specials secret_," Noah continued. "_But as you can imagine, it's been difficult_."

"Yeah, especially since your own daughter threw herself off a Ferris wheel in front of cameras," Sylar chuckled.

"_The purpose of this press conference is to alert the public about this man…_"

"Oh, shit!"

Tatiana burst into laughter as Sylar's picture came up on the screen and he sat up straight on the couch to glare at the screen.

"That's just great! I tell him I've changed and _this_ is what he does. Where the hell is Peter when I need him?"

"Isn't that him?" Tatiana frowned and Sylar shot his gaze to the TV screen to see Peter standing with Claire, Emma under his arm.

"What the _hell_?"

"Looks like you're ending up Public Enemy Number One," Tatiana smirked, deviously. "What now, Mr. Derringer?"

"Shut up," he muttered, standing and heading toward the door as Tatiana frowned in wonder at him but didn't move from her spot.

"Where are you going?" she called, standing tall and facing him but still not moving.

"Stay here," he ordered, heading into the elevator. "I'll be back."

"But---"

"Stay here!" he barked, making her jump slightly, her eyes widening as the elevator doors shut behind him and she frowned at them, now alone in the penthouse apartment.

* * *

_Across town..._

"Think that'll get his attention?" Tracy asked Noah as the reporters started dispersing and the group stayed where they were to talk.

"It should," Noah nodded, pulling off his glasses to clean off a small smudge and as he put them back on he continued, "If he didn't catch the live feed he'll catch the play back. Now all we do is wait."

"He's not gonna buy it," Claire blurted, crossing her arms over her chest, drawing everyone's attention. "_I_ don't even believe he's actually changed."

"Trust me, Claire, he has," Peter chimed in, making her shoot her gaze to him.

"Peter, he killed your _brother_," she reminded him. "How can you side with him?"

"I'm not 'siding' with him," he shot back. "I saw it when we trapped in his mind. Matt read his mind and let him go. He saved Emma's life! What more proof do you need?"

"Actions," Claire ground out. "One good deed does not a Hero make. _Especially_ after everything he did."

Emma looked to Peter and signed, "Was he really that bad?"

Peter glanced around at the rest before looking back at her and nodding, slightly.

"You haven't told her everything, have you?" Tracy guessed and Peter glared at her for a moment before turning back to Emma.

"The man that saved you is a serial killer," he started, slowly so she could read his lips properly, and her eyes widened in shock.

"_Was_!"

The group jumped and turned wide eyes to Sylar as he landed in front of them, continuing, "I wish people would get that right. I _was_ a serial killer."

"Some of us need a little more convincing," Claire shot back as she and Tracy stepped a little ahead of the other three to face him, Claire lowering her arms to be ready for a fight.

"Peter, what the _hell_ is this?" Sylar snarled angrily at the man who pulled Emma behind him and stepped up next to Claire. "You said you believed me!"

"_I_ asked him to be here," Noah spoke up, placing a hand on Claire's shoulder to let him pass and she stepped aside slightly, not taking her eyes off of Sylar. "We needed to get your attention."

"Well I'm all ears," Sylar snapped sarcastically. "What the hell is it?"

"We need your help," Noah blurted, making Sylar's anger slowly dissipate and he looked at the man in slight shock before smirking deviously.

"How did _those_ words taste comin' out of your mouth?" he retorted as Noah glared at him.

"Just shut up and listen," he snapped back.

"Alright," Sylar smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm listening."

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Tatiana rummaged through drawers frantically. There had to be _something_ to do while Sylar was away. He'd been away for _hours_, and she was just about to loose her mind before she touched something smooth and cold. Frowning she wrapped her fingers around the thing and pulled it out with a grin. Some unfortunate sap had left their iPod in the drawer of the nightstand in the bedroom.

"Awesome," she breathed, uncoiling the ear-buds from around it as she stood tall and headed toward the living room as she shoved one of the buds into her ear, the other hand thumbing the iPod to see what kind of music was on it. She grimaced at a few songs before she came upon one that she grinned at one and hit play.

_There's only two types of people in the world  
__The ones that entertain and the ones that observe  
__Well, baby, I'm a put-on-a-show kinda girl  
__Don't like the back seat, gotta be first_

Tatiana sang along with the song as she started grooving, shoving the iPod into her pocket and the other ear-bud into her ear.

_I'm like a ring leader  
__I call the shots  
__I'm like a firecracker  
__I make it hot  
__When I put on a show  
__I feel the adrenaline moving through my veins  
__Spotlight on me and I'm ready to break  
__I'm like a performer, the dance floor is my stage  
__Better be ready, hope that you feel the same_

She began choreographing the song for her entertainment, dancing movements to match the lyrics.

_All eyes on me in the center of the ring  
__Just like a circus  
__When I crack that whip, everybody gonna trip  
__Just like a circus  
__Don't stand there watchin' me, follow me  
__Show me what you can do  
__Everybody let go, we can make a dance floor  
__Just like a circus_

She gasped and froze when a chill ran up her spine and her eyes shot open as she whipped her head around to find the source of her 'Specials Flag' ability going off. Her head whipped toward the balcony leading out of the living room and slumped with an eye roll. Sylar was floating down to the balcony, grinning and waving when she pulled one of the ear buds from her ears. Tatiana marched toward the door and slid it open, letting him walk in, still grinning.

"Nice moves," he smirked, stepping into the room and she couldn't help but blush as she shut the door behind him and turned to him, pulling the other ear bud out of her ear and shutting the iPod off to shove it in her pocket as she followed him. "Were you a Pussycat Doll?"

Tatiana froze with a frown and a smirk of astonishment, scoffing, "Ok, the fact that you even _know_ who the Pussycat Dolls are is really…disturbing."

"I thought you'd say intriguing," Sylar smirked, heading toward the kitchen as she flopped onto the couch with a sigh.

"So, where'd you go and what the hell took ya so long?" she couldn't help but wonder as he tossed an apple into the air and caught it while walking toward the couch. He stopped and leaned on the head to look over her as she set her ankles on the arm of the couch, stretching out to lay across its length.

"Were you worried about me?" he smirked, leaning over her and taking a bite out of his apple as she glared at him.

"Hardly," she retorted. "I was just about to lose my mind. You're lucky I found this iPod, or you wouldn't have liked what you found when you got back. _If_ you came back."

"Of course I was coming back," he assured her. "The thought of having a beautiful woman waiting for me in a penthouse apartment isn't one you shake easily."

"Oh, please," she grumbled, rolling her eyes as she reached for the iPod again. "How do you know I wasn't gonna take off while you were gone?"

"Where're you gonna go?" he chuckled and she sneered in irritation at the fact that he was right.

"You didn't answer _my_ question," she replied, dodging the question and making him smirk again.

"Well, I went across town to find out what the hell was going on," he replied. "Apparently, they wanted to get my attention. They're gonna run another press conference tomorrow to say they've caught me and that I'm helping _them_ now, which is partially true."

"How is it partially true?" Tatiana couldn't help but ask, her curiosity piqued as she frowned up at him.

"They need my help," he shrugged, taking another bite of his apple as Tatiana's eyes widened and she sat straight up, still frowning. "Don't look so surprised. They know I've changed, remember?"

"You mean they _think_ you've changed," she retorted. "They must be pretty desperate to want _your_ help."

"You know, I'm getting a little tired of your doubt _and_ your tone," Sylar retorted, standing tall and walking around the couch to stand in front of it. "Why can't you just admit you believe me? Or maybe you can tell me the _real_ reason you hate me so much?"

"I told you I don't know how many times why I hate you," Tatiana retorted, moving her feet to sit forward as he sat where her feet had been.

"_Other_ than me killing your brother," he explained.

"What did they ask you for, already?" she snapped, making Sylar smirk a little wider before taking another bite of his apple and just staring at her for a moment as she glared back at him.

After a moment, he leaned closer and smirked, "You're cute when you're angry."

"And _you're_ an idiot," she snapped again, sitting back. "Forget it. I don't really _care_ what they want your help for."

"Oh, you will," he smirked, sitting back as well. "They asked for _your_ help, too." Tatiana's eyes shot wide as she looked up at him in disbelief, making his smirk widen. "Interested _now_, aren't ya?"

"What the hell do they want _me_ for?" she shrieked.

"I'd tell you, but it doesn't seem like you really care," he shrugged.

"You--!"

"Alright, I'm just kidding," he chuckled. "They wanted us to help catch somebody. Apparently, he's worse than _I_ was."

"I didn't think that was possible," Tatiana retorted then frowned. "Wait, worse than _you_? Why hasn't anybody heard of him?"

"He's kept himself out of sight for a while," Sylar explained. "They said he commits his deeds in secret, and nobody knows about them until days later. He's killed more people than I have, and they've all been innocent, _normal_ people."

"As opposed to innocent, _special_ people?"

"Don't start, just tell me what you think."

"I _think_ I'd rather swallow tacks than work with _you_."

With that Tatiana stood and headed toward the bedroom leaving Sylar on the couch as he took another bite of his apple before calling, "Don't you wanna know his name and what he does?"

"Don't care," she called back, not stopping. "I'm not doin' it."

"His name is Hayden Felch," Sylar continued, and his sensitive hearing picked up her footsteps stopping, making him smirk. "He's a teleporter, which makes having your ability to detect Specials within a certain range _very_ useful."

Tatiana swallowed and turned on her heel to look at the back of Sylar's head, asking, just above a whisper, "You say his name like I should know it. How the hell do you know that I know him?"

"You under-estimated Noah Bennet and his Company," Sylar replied, deciding to entertain himself by allowing streams of blue lightening flow over his hand as he examined it. "He's been watching you for a while. He knows everybody _you_ do. They watched all of us at one point of another. He even told me the only reason he left you alone was to see if you could take me out like you'd planned." He lowered his hand as he set his jaw and muttered, "Bastard."

"What's Hayden done?" she breathed, not moving from her spot and Sylar lifted a brow, but didn't look back at her.

"I told you already," he reminded her. "He's killed people just for the hell of it."

"No," Tatiana insisted, and this time, Sylar shifted on the couch to turn and frown at her as she shook her head slightly. "Hayden could never…He'd never do anything like that. He was…a good guy."

"Well, apparently something's changed," he replied, not standing as she approached the couch again, staring wide, emerald, watery eyes at him.

"He was a…good guy," she repeated, walking around, still shaking her head in disbelief as she sat and Sylar frowned at her in disbelief.

This wasn't Tatiana. Tatiana was angry, mean, and hateful. She didn't cry or break down like she was doing over a _guy_. A guy she hadn't seen in…how long did Noah say? Four years?

She suddenly shot a glare at him and his eyes widened slightly at her mood swing from sadness to anger as she snarled, "You'd better not be lying to me, or I'll beat your ass so hard you won't be able to shit for a week!"

"There's the Tatiana I know," he smirked sarcastically before replying, "I'm not lying, Blondie. He's a bad a guy. You can ask Peter if you like when he comes over tomorrow to brief me on the mission."

Another mood swing rolled over Tatiana, this time from anger to shock as she sputtered, "You-You're gonna go after him?"

"Well, yeah," Sylar shrugged, taking one last bite of his apple before standing and heading back to kitchen, continuing, "Like I've been trying to tell you before, I'm a hero now."

And as Tatiana watched him with wide eyes she couldn't help but realize that this didn't seem like the man she'd been hunting since her brother's death. He seemed like the man she'd wanted to catch the eye of when she was working at the watch repair shop. Her heart fluttered at that thought but she slumped in what she could only describe as disappointment when she reminded herself of one, over-ruling fact.

_He killed my brother_, she thought, a little _less_ enthusiastically than before. _I can __never__ forgive him for that._**A/N:** yeah, she's unrelentless in that, isn't she? lol. reviews?


	7. Breaking the Plan

**A/N:** chow! here we go! the take-down! new chappie! yay! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 7: Breaking the Plan**_

"I can't _believe_ I'm doing this," Tatiana muttered as she and Sylar stood at a bus stop, his arm slung around her neck as he adjusted his black baseball cap on his head. She glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest and grumbling, "Why do we have to act like we're together to find my ex-boyfriend?"

"Apparently, Felch is a very jealous sort of man," Sylar replied, chomping on a piece of gum. "He sees you with _me_, and he's gonna fly off the handle for sure. I'd like to find out how his power works, too."

"_There_ it is," Tatiana smirked, deviously. "I was waiting for you to say something like that. You gonna slice his head off and have a peek?"

"I can take his power _without_ killing him," Sylar reminded her. "I'll leave the dirty work to _you_, Miss I-Can-Kill-You-Anytime."

"I'm _not_ killing Hayden," she ground out. "Let's get that straight. He's a good guy and _nothing_ like you!"

"_Wow, she really hates you, doesn't she?_" Noah's voice sounded in Sylar's earwig, making the other man glare at a van across the street before he lifted his free hand to adjust his hat again and speak into the mic clipped to his sleeve.

"Shut it, Bennett," he muttered, making Tatiana frown up at him when he lowered his arm and she scoffed.

"He get on your nerves?" she smirked, seeing the bus they were waiting for pull up.

"Just a tad," Sylar replied, entreating the blonde to head into the bus ahead of him when the doors opened. They paid their fare and made their way to the very back to have a full view of the bus and it passengers.

"You _sure_ he's gonna be here?" Tatiana wondered skeptically, cringing at his arm still slung around her shoulders.

"Ask Bennett," Sylar muttered then looked down at her and asked, "We're not gonna have a problem with this, are we?"

Tatiana shot her gaze to him with a frown asking, "Problem with what?"

"Hayden being your ex and _you_ still having some feelings for him. _That_ problem," Sylar replied and her eyes widened as a blush painted over her cheeks.

"I-I don't still have _feelings_ for him!" she hissed, making Sylar smirk in amusement.

"I beg to differ, considering the way you defended him so vigorously when I told you he was a bad apple," he replied and Tatiana only glared at him as he leaned toward her ear and whispered, "Since you're attracted to serial killers, why not go for one that's made a turn around?"

"You mean the one that _killed_ my brother?" Tatiana shot back through clenched teeth, shoving him away slightly. "No thanks. I'd rather kill myself."

She suddenly felt a chill run up her spine before she heard someone say, "Oh, don't say that, baby."

The two jumped and turned to Tatiana's right to see a man with died, dark blue hair and sapphire eyes examining his nails as he sat close to her. He glanced to them and smirked, evilly.

"Hey, Bombshell," he murmured, eyeing Tatiana. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Hayden," Tatiana breathed in shock and Sylar turned from playful to serious in one second, using his arm slung around Tatiana's neck to pull her closer and glaring at the other man.

"Who's _this_ guy, huh?" Hayden smirked, scooting a little closer to slip a hand over her thigh. "He looks like a real jerk."

"Believe me, he _is_," Tatiana shot back, glaring at Sylar who glared back, silently telling her to shut up.

"_Leash your cat, Sylar!_" Bennett growled into his ear. "_Stick with the plan!_"

"Sure I am, but the sex is _way_ better, ain't it sweetie?" Sylar smirked, nuzzling Tatiana's ear and looking to Hayden as he glared back at him. "You told me yourself, remember?"

"_Don't get him __too__ riled, dammit! We can't have him killing everyone in that bus!_"

"Is that true?" Hayden ground out at Tatiana who glanced between the two men before swallowing and stared wide eyes at Hayden.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, and she knew why. It wasn't fear. Seeing Hayden again was taking a toll on her. _He_ had broken up with her, and she'd spent endless nights crying herself to sleep over it. Now, seeing him and having his hand resting on her thigh was digging up all those feelings she'd had for him. She hated to admit it, but Sylar had been right…she still cared for him.

"No," she replied. "No! It's _not_ true!"

Sylar shot a wide-eyed stare of disbelief at her, hearing Noah curse in his ear. Tatiana shoved his arm from around her and nearly threw herself into Hayden's open arms, making Sylar curse and glare at her.

"They're gonna kill you Hayden!" she breathed, snuggling against his chest as his arms wrapped around her. "They think you've killed people!"

"And they were gonna use you as bait," he theorized, glaring at Sylar as he stroked her hair. "Not any more, Bombshell. Let's get outta here."

"No!" Sylar growled, seeing what was coming and lunged toward the two, but could do nothing to stop him from disappearing into thin air.

Sylar stared wide eyes at the empty space before cursing again and standing to grab the chain above his head to signal a stop. The bus began to pull over as Sylar made his way to the front and jumped out, looking around the street.

"_What the hell happened?_" he heard Noah in his ear.

"Shut up and let me think, Bennett, _please_?" he snapped into the mic on his wrist as he headed down the street in the opposite direction the bus was headed, muttering, "They couldn't have gone far."

He looked around the street as he marched down the sidewalk, looking for blonde hair above a black trench coat he'd lent her. Last time he did that. Goddamn woman couldn't even keep her emotions in check. He liked her fire, but she was turning out to be a handful of unpredictable. He thought for sure she'd see the jerk that guy was and be just as angry with _him_ as she was with _Sylar_. The fact that she threw herself at the guy just because she _used_ to know him made his blood boil. He didn't have to know the guy to see it in his eyes that he was a dirtbag, but that true blonde let her heart get in the way and _now_ look where they were.

Sylar growled at himself before he caught a flash of blonde hair ahead of him with an arm slung around the shoulders it was attached to. He smirked as they rounded the corner and he glanced around to make sure no one was watching before he floated into the air and glided above the building until he saw the two. He cursed when Tatiana looked up at him, remembering her ability to sense Specials within a certain range. He watched as she pulled on Hayden's arm to catch his attention but Sylar didn't waste time. He dove and charged toward the two. They both disappeared.

"Shit!" Sylar snarled, trying to stop himself but he slammed into the cement and tumbled across the alleyway until he slammed into the other building, seemingly dead. He groaned as he slowly stood up and cracked his neck and arms back into place as a few cuts healed instantly. He rolled his shoulders and glanced down the alleyway again.

"_Where are they?_" Noah shouted in his ear, making Sylar roll his eyes with a heavy sigh as he lifted his hand to talk into the mic.

"Ya know, Noah, it's kind of hard for me to think when you're shouting in my ear like that," he replied. "Why don't we cut the chit chat and you activate that little homing device I put on her without her noticing?"

"_How the hell did you-?_"

"I'm sneaky," Sylar cut in, reaching into his jacket pocket to pull out a small PDA. "Activate the thing already, will ya?"

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"Hayden, where are we?" Tatiana asked as Hayden pulled her by the hand through a darkened hall.

"I brought us straight to my apartment building," Hayden replied, stopping and shoving a hand into his pocket, still holding one of hers with the other. "Can't _believe_ the power's still out."

"Hayden, I have to tell you-"

"Wait till we get inside, Bombshell," he smirked, opening the door and pulling her into the apartment ahead of him to pat her rear. He shut the door behind him and grabbed her hand to pull her back to him, both still standing in front of the door. "Alright, baby. What's wrong?"

"I didn't wanna do it, Hayden!" she cried. "I was _forced_ to do it! They used me because they knew I'd detect you. I kept telling them you wouldn't do the things they said you did!"

"Who's 'they', baby?" Hayden murmured, stroking her hair from her face, gently.

"That guy is was with…Sylar, and the people he's working with," Tatiana replied, hesitantly lifting her hands to place them on his chest.

"Sylar?" Hayden frowned, his hands slipping around her waist, and Tatiana felt her heart starting to thump in her chest. Memories flooded her mind as he pulled her closer, leaning back on the door behind him. "Wasn't he the man that killed your brother? Why are you with _him_?"

Tatiana's emerald gaze met his sapphire one as her heart skipped a beat in panic, but she quickly pulled herself together and replied, "It's…complicated. But it doesn't matter now because I'm _away_ from him, and I'm not going back. You were right about him. He's a jerk."

"Well, you're with _me_ now, baby," he murmured, his face suddenly very close to hers, making her gaze lower to his lips. "You don't have to worry about him anymore. With your detecting ability, and _my_ teleportation, we'll make the best team in the history of Specials."

"You-You're taking me back?" she frowned in wonder. "Why?"

"I never should've let you go, babe," Hayden admitted, a whisper away from her lips. "I missed you."

"Really?" Tatiana breathed before his mouth came crashing down on hers and she moaned, instantly melting into the kiss and leaning against him, her arms slipping around his neck.

He pulled her closer as his tongue snaked into her mouth and she felt ready to burst into tears of happiness, her heart swelling to the point where she thought it would burst in her chest. A moment later they pulled away and Tatiana buried her face into his chest as they still held each other.

"I _knew_ you were still the man I thought you were," she breathed, snuggling against him. "That stupid four-eyed jerk said you killed people. He even told me _how_ those people were killed! It was horrible! I'll bet it was _Sylar_ and they were both trying to frame you."

"He told you how they were killed?" Hayden wondered, still holding her. "Tell me what he said."

Tatiana frowned, looking up at him then shaking her head as she stared wide eyes at him, breathing, "It was _horrible_, Hayden! You _don't_ wanna know. Trust me."

"Oh, but I _do_," he nearly growled, gripping her arms tightly and spinning her around to pin her to the door. She grunted when her back hit the wood and her eyes shot wide to stare at him in shock. "Tell me _everything_ he told you, Bombshell. Every _single_ detail. I wanna hear you talk about it."

"But, why-?"

Her breath was cut short when she felt a chill run up her spine and shot her gaze behind him, making him frown at her. He soon realized she had sensed another Special and whirled around to look behind him just as the lights flickered on…with a bluish tint.

"It's him," Tatiana breathed, grabbing a hold of Hayden's arm, but he quickly yanked it away, making her frown at him.

"Well, Blondie, ya couldn't let us take him in, could ya?" Sylar's voice sounded from somewhere deeper into the apartment. "You _had_ to make this harder."

"Leave him alone, you son of a bitch!" Tatiana shouted into the apartment. "He's _nothing_ like you!"

"You're right about that," Sylar replied, stepping from the shadows, streams of blue lightening flowing over his hands, his black baseball hat gone. "He's _worse_. Didn't you hear him asking you to tell him _every_ detail of what he did to those poor people? It gets him off. That was probably why he broke up with you, because women couldn't get it up. He had to _kill_ people to do it."

"Shut up!" Tatiana screamed, throwing a hand up and sending a Shield Pulse in his direction, but he quickly dodged it.

One of his hands shot up and he used his telekinesis to shove her against the door with a grunt, but he didn't fail to notice Hayden charging toward him. He held a hand up to blast him with electricity, but the other man disappeared, making him stop short to keep from hurting Tatiana as he still held her against the door. Hayden appeared behind Sylar and threw an arm around his neck from behind to choke him. Sylar let Tatiana go when he was startled and tried elbowing Hayden in the gut, but it didn't work.

"I _knew_ you idiots would find my eventually," he whispered into Sylar's ear as he still choked him, kneeling to the floor on one knee for better leverage on him. "It was only a matter of time, but it doesn't matter now. Once I get rid of _you_, _she'll_ be the last one. The masterpiece. And, boy, am I gonna get a _rush_ seein' her squirm and beg for mercy. Too bad you won't be here to see it. I would've been _honored_ to have a man like you observe my work."

"I'm _nothing_ like you!" Sylar strained, trying to pull the man's arm away as he felt as if his powers were being drained from him. The cavalry was close, and on it's way.

"Aren't you?" Hayden continued, not noticing Tatiana frown at the same feeling Sylar was having. Hayden was too busy with the other man to notice it at all. "We both killed for pleasure, didn't we?"

"I killed for powers," Sylar ground out. "I just happened to enjoy it at the same time for a while there. _You're_ killing Specials _and_ normal people. You're even _more_ sick then me."

"Hayden-!"

Tatiana's warning was cut short by a shot, followed by Hayden crying out in pain, his back arching as he let go of Sylar and fell to the floor, seizing. The blonde leapt to her feet and tried running to Hayden, but Sylar caught her around the arms and nearly lifted her away, kicking and struggling as he looked up to where the shot had come from.

"It's about time!" he snapped at Noah. "What'd you do, stop for coffee on the way here?"

"Quit whining," Noah shot back, holstering his taser as René knelt next to Hayden's jerking body and injected him with something to keep him unconscious. "I tried to get you a bagel, but they didn't have banana-nut."

"How _thoughtful_," Sylar retorted, still holding a struggling Tatiana as she tried shoving against him, elevated off the ground by his arm. Having enough he jerked her to get her attention, shouting, "Hey!"

She growled once before shooting a glare at him.

"Knock it off, or I'll slap you silly when we get back to the hotel!"

"I'm not going back with _you_!" she cried, and Sylar saw tears in her eyes. "You all _lied_ to me! He didn't do _any_ of the things you said he did!"

"Oh, no?" Sylar retorted, digging into his jacket pocket with one hand as he still held her with one arm. He pulled out a tape recorder and waved it in front of her before hitting rewind. She frowned in wonder as he set her on her feet and started the tape.

"_I __knew__ you idiots would find my eventually_," Hayden's voice came from the player, making her frown deepen. "_It was only a matter of time, but it doesn't matter now. Once I get rid of __you__, __she'll__ be the last one. The masterpiece. And, boy, am I gonna get a __rush__ seein' her squirm and beg for mercy_…"

"Stop it," Tatiana pleaded, her voice raw, her anger at the moment dissipated as she turned to Hayden, still unconscious on the floor as Sylar stopped the tape. "I don't…wanna hear any more."

"Here ya go, Bennett," Sylar called, tossing the player to him as René lifted the other man from the floor, and Noah caught it, instantly. "All the proof you need's right there."

"Never thought I'd actually _thank_ you for anything," Noah smirked, pocketing the player.

"You'll keep your word, right?" Sylar reminded him, seriously. "You'll leave us alone?"

"Us?" Tatiana frowned in wonder at him, but was ignored as Noah nodded.

"On my Claire's life, I swear it," Noah replied.

"Not much of a promise, since she can grow a new one, but I'll take it," Sylar shot back, grabbing Tatiana's hand and marching toward the door.

"Who's 'us,' Sylar?" she insisted and he stopped them outside the door to face her.

"You and me, of course," he replied, matter-of-factly. "Who else would I be talking about?"

"I'm _not_ going back with you," she objected, pulling her hand from his grip. "Not after _this_!"

Sylar sighed, rolling his eyes and muttering, "I _knew_ you were gonna be difficult about this." He looked to the room and called, "René? Mind helpin' me out _one more time_?"

Tatiana frowned at Sylar before looking back into the room, only to have a huge hand latch onto her forehead that forced her to blackout. Sylar quickly caught her as René held his hand on her forehead but looked to the other man.

"What do you want her to forget?" he asked.

It had been another part of the deal. If Tatiana was getting to be too much of a handful, they'd have to pull out some memories that were _making_ things difficult. Sylar stared down at Tatiana, lost in deep thought. He had a chance to make things right. Have René pull out all the memories she had of him, her brother dying, and start out with a clean slate. She wouldn't know the old Sylar, only the new one. Not the psychopath he _had_ been, but the stable person he was _now_. He could change it all with one word.

"Take out everything about Hayden," he answered, finally. "Nothing else."

"You sure?" Noah chimed in, standing over the Haitian. "Might be easier if he just takes everything about _you_, too."

"That's cheating," Sylar replied, looking at him before looking back at the blonde in his arms. "I want to _earn_ her trust."

He looked to René who nodded in understanding, and began his memory rearranging.

_Hope you know what you're doing, Gabe_, Sylar thought to himself. _She may not be pissed when she wakes up, but she's __still__ gonna hate you._

He shrugged, inwardly, thinking, _Just have to try harder to impress her, I __guess._

* * *

**A/N:** well? i picked up the ball and ran with it. love writing by the seat of my pants, especially with these action sequences. they're so much fun! reviews?


	8. Fixing Broken Things

**A/N:** woo hoo! new chappie! aren't you all happy? enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 8: Fixing Broken Things**_

Tatiana groaned and her eyes shot open when she was suddenly jostled into an upright position. Her emerald gaze shot around the bus full of people before she looked up at the person she'd been leaning on to her left.

"What the hell are we doing on a bus?" she hissed at Sylar, sitting up and away from before asking, "And how did I get here?"

"We needed groceries," he replied, frowning down at her in wonder as he lifted the brown bag in his lap up a little for her to get a good look at. "We're on our way back to the hotel. You fell asleep as soon as you sat down."

"I don't remember shopping with _you_," she retorted.

"Trying to block out your attraction to me, are you?" Sylar smirked, leaning closer to her face. "You were pretty eager to spend some more time with me."

"If I was eager about _anything_, it was to get out of the room for some fresh air!" she shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. "As I recall, the last time _you_ went somewhere I was bored out of my mind because you took too damn long." Something about her own remark made her frown and ask him, "What did that Bennett guy want anyway? You never did tell me."

Sylar glanced at her before swallowing silently then shrugged, "Just some wild goose chase. I couldn't help him, but it didn't seem to bother him too much. He said he'd recant his statement to the press about me anyway, though."

"What exactly did he want?" Tatiana probed, sensing deception but saying nothing about it, and not surprised at all that she was getting that vibe from _him_.

"Just some information on a Special I used to know," he shrugged again. "He wanted us to follow him and report on him. I told him we don't work for the damn Company no matter what they offer."

"Says _you_!" Tatiana snarled, shifting to face him a little better. "What the hell did you tell him that about the _both_ of us for? Maybe _I_ wouldn't have minded helping him out, don't you think?"

"You don't _wanna_ help them out, Blondie, _trust_ me," Sylar replied. "Besides, they needed _me_ more than you anyway. _I'm_ the one who knew the guy."

"And who is this guy?" she retorted, skeptically.

A name instantly sprung to his head and he used it. "Mohinder Suresh."

"And what was he, a friend of yours?" she wondered, then quickly added, "Oh, wait. You don't _have_ any friends, do you?"

"You could say he was a friend," Sylar replied. "But it doesn't matter anyway. I don't know where he is. He could be back in India for all I know, and I am _not_ going to India."

"You know, Sylar, you're full of shit," she snapped as the bus stopped and she stood as he shot his gaze to her but she only stood and made her way toward one of the doors of the bus. He hurriedly stood, clutching the bag in his lap and ran after her, jumping off the bus just in time for the doors to close and Tatiana whirled around to glare at him.

"What did you mean by that?" he asked, hiding his panic well.

"I mean, I don't think there _is_ or ever _was_ a Mohinder Suresh and you're just talkin' out of your ass so that you don't have to tell me what the _real_ job was," Tatiana shot back. "_That's_ what I mean. If you don't wanna tell me, just say so, or _ignore_ me like you _used_ to."

She turned and marched down the street, not caring where she was headed, just wanting to get out of there. He hadn't wanted to lie, but what choice did he have. She didn't remember Hayden now, thank god. The guy was a scum bag. He'd heard him when he asked her to give him the details of everything she knew about his murders. He knew the tone he's used too well. It was the same one Sylar had used when he was ready for a fresh kill. He knew if he hadn't shown up, Tatiana would be lying in that creep's apartment, gutted like a fish.

Sylar hurried after Tatiana as she still marched down the street. He couldn't let her out of his sight. He had to protect her, no matter what, and he felt as though it was more than his turning over a new leaf. She was a girl from his past that he didn't really recall…the sister of his first victim. He _owed_ it to her to protect her, and frankly, he felt he didn't deserve the honor. Sure she was a pain in the ass, but she was _gorgeous_ pain in the ass, and the fact that she fought him tooth and nail made her even hotter. He'd realized a while ago if any woman were to be with him, she'd _have_ to be a fighter, there was no getting around it.

"Hey, Blondie!" he called, almost catching up, but she didn't look back. "Tatiana!"

She continued marching down the street without stopping and he finally reached her, grabbing her arm, but she only stopped without looking at him.

"Tina," he called, gently and her eyes widened as she spun around as he let her go. She stared her emerald gaze at him in rage and before he could react, she lifted a hand and swiftly slapped him across the face. He wasn't surprised. He was taking a chance calling her that, but as long as it stopped her, he supposed he had to risk it.

"Don't you _ever_ call me that again," Tatiana ground out. "Only the people I _care _about call me that, and _you_ are not one of those people."

"Fine," Sylar snapped. "But let me ask you, Blondie: Where the _hell_ are you gonna go if you're not gonna come back with me to the hotel?"

"I don't care," she shot back. "Somewhere _away_ from _you_! If you're gonna lie to me, then I don't wanna be around you!"

"You don't wanna be around me anyway!" he retorted. "You wanna go? Fine! Leave! Get your ass outta here! But don't come back, you hear me? You wanna kill me, you do it when I'm not expecting it and you _better_ not hesitate, because I'm _not_ going through this again!"

With that, Sylar turned and marched away from _her_ this time. Tatiana made a face at his back and started marching down the street in the opposite direction. After a few steps her pace slowed as she looked around at the people passing her. She soon realized that she had nowhere to go, and not enough money from the amount that Sylar had given her to stay anywhere.

The blonde stopped and turned to crane her neck over the crowd enough to find Sylar again. Spotting him she shoved through the crowd around her and soon caught up to him to walk next to his slowed pace. Sylar glanced next to her and only smirked but said nothing as he reached a hand into the bag to pull out an apple and toss it to her. She caught it with a start and picked at the peel as she lowered her gaze to it, glancing at him every few seconds.

"Knew you couldn't live without me."

"Shut up, you psychopath."

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Hayden gave muffled yells as Noah and René tossed him into the back of their van, Peter and Claire on either side of the cabin. The villain struggled against the ropes tying his hands behind his back, the rope around his ankles and the gag around his mouth, but it did no good.

"Whoa, this guy's a worse greaser than Sylar," Claire blurted, and Hayden glared at her.

"Speaking of which, where _are_ Sylar and Tatiana?" Peter asked as Claire gave a sarcastic grin to Hayden.

"They're on their way back to their hotel," Noah muttered, slamming the doors to the van shut and making the three inside wince. The other two climbed into the front seats and Peter and Claire shifted forward to talk to them.

"What happened?" Peter asked. "I thought they were coming back with us?"

"I _knew_ bringing that girl on was a bad idea," Noah grumbled as he started the engine. "She let her pas feelings for that jerk to get in the way of her judgment. She _still_ didn't believe us about all the horrible things he'd done. She helped him get away and Sylar went after her."

"And _you_ went after _Sylar_, right?" Claire guessed.

"No, we went after _Hayden_," Noah corrected. "Sylar helped us, but the Shielder put up a fight. Don't ask her anything about what happened though. She won't remember."

"Are you _kidding_?" Claire snapped, looking to René, saying, "You _Haitianed_ her?"

"Is _that_ what you call it?" René frowned in wonder at Noah who gave a nod with a shrug.

"It was _Sylar_ that wanted it done," Noah replied. "He wanted all of her memories of Hayden erased."

"That _jerk_!" Claire shrieked again. "He really _hasn't_ changed, has he?"

"He could have taken a lot more from her if he wished," René replied. "He chose not to erase her memories of him."

"What memories?" Claire asked and Peter glanced to her before looking to Noah and René.

"You didn't tell her?" Peter guessed as Noah pulled out of the parking spot to drive through the garage.

"It wasn't necessary," Noah replied.

"Wow, _that_ sounds familiar," Claire muttered, sitting back and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Just tell her, Noah," Peter advised. "What harm could it do?"

"Well if _that's_ how you feel, why don't _you_ tell her?" Noah smirked.

"I don't know the whole story," Peter admitted.

"Fine," Noah sighed.

* * *

**Four Years Ago...**

_Elle and Noah watched a blonde stand in front of the watch repair shop for a moment before she strolled in._

"_That's__ Tina Davis?" Elle asked in disbelief. "She doesn't look __anything__ like her brother."_

"_They rarely do," Noah replied._

"_I thought you were gonna send __me__ in there," she recalled._

"_Later," Noah reported. "We need to monitor them a little more before-"_

_He cut himself off when he saw the blonde stumble back out the door, blood obviously all over her body. She looked around and started heading down the street before she stopped and looked around again with a frown._

"_Get down," Noah told Elle, gripping the back of her head and shoving her head almost between her knees._

"_What the-?"_

"_Be quiet!" he hissed, watching Tina intently as her emerald eyes scanned toward the van and Noah quickly set his head back on the headrest to act like he was asleep as he muttered, "She sensed you. She's looking for you. If she sees you, she'll attack."_

"_You don't know that," Elle snapped, trying to shove back against his grip but he was too strong. "Besides, I could take her."_

"_Yeah, well, we can't chance that," he retorted, watching Tina stumble down the street again. Once she was far enough away he let go of Elle and she sat up, rubbing her neck as he opened his door, saying, "Let's go."_

_Elle quickly followed and they both headed toward the shop which looked to be closed. Noah glanced through the window and drew his gun, looking to Elle and nodding at her to prepare herself. She nodded and Noah opened the door, quickly aiming his gun inside and Elle lifted her hands to activate her blue lightening as she stepped in, only glancing at the body on the floor. They went through the shop and made sure it was all clear before meeting back at the body and Noah knelt next to it._

"_Brian Davis," Noah identified, only staring at the body._

"_Geez, and his __sister__ had to find him," Elle sighed, looking around the room._

"_Yeah," Noah sighed as well, standing and adjusting his glasses as he pulled his phone from his pocket and turned to head out the door. "Looks like you'll be going in sooner than you thought, __Elle."_

* * *

_Back at the Penthouse Suite..._

"What the hell, Sylar?" Tatiana muttered, her arms outstretched in front of her as Sylar held his hands over her eyes while he led her from behind into the living room. "Are you leading me to the balcony to throw me off?"

"Sorry to disappoint, Blondie," he smirked into her ear, making her shrug him away, but he only chuckled as he pulled back slightly to dodge the attack. "Don't you know the meaning of a surprise?"

"From _you_, that means a surprise _attack_," she retorted as he stopped her, his hands still over her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh, come on. Don't be cynical," he murmured, stepping up to her back and almost closing the gap between them.

His heart skipped when he realized how close he was and noticing her hair was slightly damp from the shower she'd taken while he'd prepared the dinner on the table next to the balcony door. Not being able to help himself he leaned his face toward her blonde hair and silently inhaled the light scent of lavender shampoo on her hair, sending a chill running up his spine which he somehow managed to keep from racking his body.

"Yo, Sylar-path," Tatiana called, breaking him from his trance and making him smirk. "I still can't see."

"So I have my own mental classification now, huh?" he smirked, his mouth just behind her ear and dodging her attempt to shrug him away.

"Hell yes, after all the crap you've pulled," she shot back as he still didn't lower his hands from her gaze and instead brought his head around to the other side of hers.

"You're cute when you're irritated, Blondie," he murmured and she shrugged him away again but he only chuckled as he pulled back. "Alright, alright, I'll let you have a peek."

He lowered his hands and Tatiana blinked her vision into focus before they widened in disbelief. The table was set for two with a white table cloth as it sat next to the balcony door to give them a view of the city lights below. If their dinner hadn't been hamburgers and if there had been candles on the table, it would have been a rather romantic setting, but Tatiana thanked God it wasn't, nor did she expect anything more from Sylar. How could someone like _him_ be romantic? Then again, when she'd worked for his father and watched him work, she had always suspected he had a bit of a romantic side to him.

_Yeah right, Ana_, she thought to herself. _Like a serial killer could be romantic._

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Sylar wondered, stepping next to her with a hand gently on her back and the other gesturing to the table. "Have a seat. You've gotta be starving, right?"

"Whatever," she shrugged, though she felt her stomach start to rock at the thought of food as they stepped toward the table and Sylar sat first.

He raised a hand toward Tatiana's chair as she stepped up next to it and it moved out a bit, making her jump and watch it as it settled. She looked to Sylar who gave a smirk as he gestured to her to sit and she obeyed. The chair moved her closer to the table, making her jump but she soon relaxed as the chair settled again, Sylar still smirking at her.

"I didn't expect you to be a _gentleman_," she smirked, sitting back in her chair.

"Glad I can surprise you," he retorted, starting at his burger as she glanced around before looking out the window. The city lights caught her attention and she shifted to lean an elbow on the table to face the window, setting her chin into her hand.

"Love the view," she smiled, catching Sylar's attention and he glanced out the window before looking back at Tatiana and smirked.

"Didn't think you had it in you," he said, catching her attention and making her frown in wonder.

"Had what in me?" she asked.

"You were smiling," he smirked, wiping his mouth and Tatiana sneered as she started at her burger.

"No I wasn't," she muttered.

"Sure," Sylar nodded, skeptically. "Ready to admit I've changed, yet?"

"One dinner does _not_ excuse you from killing my brother," she retorted, picking up her glass of water next to her plate to take a drink.

"You know what _I_ think?" he voiced, leaning toward her slightly on the table. "I think there's more to your hate than you're letting on."

"Really?" Tatiana breathed sarcastically with wide eyes as she set her glass down and rolled her eyes.

"There's gotta be _more_ to your hatred than me killing your brother."

"Haven't we had this discussion before?"

"I can't fix what I _don't_ know I've broken," Sylar explained, making Tatiana look up at him in wonder. "I can't bring your brother back, but whatever else I did to upset you I can try to make up for it."

"You don't get it, do you?" Tatiana shot back, glaring at him. "Since you're either that _dense_ or you don't remember, I guess I'll have to jog your memory. It's not what you _did_, it's what you _didn't_ do! All those times I came up to you, talked to you and even asked you out, not _once_ did you acknowledge me or even look up from your work! Hell, you didn't even remember that I _existed_! So yeah, I might be a little pissed that I wasn't as memorable to _you_ as you were to _me_."

Tatiana stood and grabbed her plate and drink to head toward the bedroom, slamming the door behind her as Sylar stared at the place she used to be. His sensitive hearing caught sniffles and sobs, making him sigh, but he didn't get up. Going in there when she was pissed would only make it worse, he knew it.

"I had a feeling it was something like that," he muttered to himself before leaning back in his chair before quickly coming up with an idea. He stood and headed toward the bedroom door, walking in without bothering to knock.

"What do you want?" Tatiana asked, quickly wiping her face and turning a watery glare at him as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the doorframe.

"I know why you don't wanna admit I've changed," he theorized and she gave a slight frown before turning to pick at her food as the plate sat on her lap. "You've _hated_ me for so long, you don't _know_ how to like me."

He shoved off the wall and stepped toward the bed to sit on the mattress as she didn't look away from her food.

"So how are you gonna convince me that you _have_ changed?" she muttered.

Sylar leaned forward and pulled her plate from her lap, making her turn to him, but she still didn't look at him as he made the plate float and directed it to the night stand next to the bed. He shifted closer and risked reaching out to tuck the knuckle of his index finger under her chin and pull her gaze to his. She didn't make eye contact immediately as he only stared at her until she finally looked up at him.

"I'm gonna do what I _should_ have done four years ago," he murmured, making her frown in wonder as he lowered his hand, their gazes now locked. "You wanna go out with me tomorrow? We can make a day of it if you want. How 'bout it?"

* * *

**A/N:** i hope i fit in ok with the series. and i just thought i'd mention this since i keep getting comments about it, i messed up when i gave Sylar Eden's power in the first few chapters. he hasn't had it since then, and he won't be using it from now on. it just fit in for those few chappies. reviews?


	9. Memorable

**A/N:** new chappie! ok, so i couldn't resist. theres a bit of fluff. so if you're afraid of a fluffy Sylar, i'm sorry. enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 9: Memorable**_

"Where are they, Felch?" Noah demanded, sitting across from Hayden as he was strapped to a chair, the René standing next to him and keeping him from teleporting out of the room. "I _know_ it was you that kidnapped them, so you may as well give it up."

"I dunno what the _hell_ you're talking about," Hayden snarled back, turning his head to spit out some blood gathering from the cut in his mouth onto the grimy cement floor of the dimly lit warehouse the three were in.

"I think you _do_, Hayden," Noah smirked, confidently as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Molly Walker and Maya Herrera. Where are they?"

Hayden turned an evil smirk toward Noah, his sapphire eyes glowing with murder as he ran his tongue over his lips, slowly.

"Oh _those_ two?" he murmured in a deviously low voice. "See, I thought you meant someone else, like Tatiana York and Gabriel Gray. And trust me, if I knew where _they_ were, I'd be there right now instead of _here_."

"Stick to the topic at hand, Felch," Noah shot back. "Tell me where the girls are and I _might_ go easy on you."

"Like anything _you_ do to me could hurt me," Hayden smirked and gave a small cough when some blood trickled down his throat.

"Maybe not hurt," Noah shrugged, casually. "But I might make your death _extremely_ uncomfortable and slow."

"Oh, you mean this interrogation isn't part of it?" Hayden scoffed.

"Felch, you'd best cooperate or René here is gonna start taking all your precious memories of all your kills," Noah threatened and Hayden's confidence level dropped down a notch as he looked up at the Haitian standing next to Noah. "Maybe some nice memories with Tatiana?"

Hayden shot an enraged gaze at Bennett, and his hands clenched into fists tied behind his back as he ground out, "Why not? You _erased_ any memories of me from _her_ memory. I could care _less_ about whether or not you take those memories from _me_."

"I don't think that's true at all, Hayden," Noah smirked, knowing he was getting to the Teleporter. "I think you liked her, despite the fact that you were getting ready to kill her."

Hayden roared in anger as he tried to launch himself at the man across from him but the ropes around him kept him tied to the chair, but it moved slightly toward Noah.

"I would _never_ kill her!" he growled at the other man. "And I swear, when I get out of this, I'm going after her and I'll _reverse_ what you assholes did to her after I kill Sylar!"

"Promises, promises," Noah retorted, waving it off before getting serious again. "But quit trying to change the subject. Tell us where Molly and Maya are."

"Nowhere you can find," Hayden smirked, sitting back in his chair. "And you'll _never_ find them without _me_. So you go pokin' around in my head for memories to erase, you might take something I'll need out and then _no one_ will find them till they're dead." He leaned forward in his chair as Noah scowled at him. "So I'll make you deal Bennett. I'll tell you where they are…_and_ I'll stop killing, if you let me go and tell me, where Tatiana and Sylar are hiding. What do ya say?"

* * *

_The Next Morning..._

Tatiana groaned when the sun shone straight into her face and she rolled over to escape, her hand landing on something on the pillow. She frowned in wonder and opened one eye to peek at what the paper under her hand and picked it up to unfold it as she rolled onto her back. She rubbed her eyes and sighed as she read the note in Sylar's handwriting.

_Breakfast is ready and waiting for you on the table. Eat up. We've got a long day ahead._

"Oh, joy," the blonde muttered, flopping her arms to her sides to stare at the ceiling.

She still couldn't believe she'd agreed to let him take her out on an all-day date. It was so stupid! Going on a date with the man that ignored you, had no idea you existed and killed your own brother was the most _stupidest_ thing she could think of doing in her life. And yet, when he'd been sitting there, staring his deep, chocolate brown eyes into her emeralds, nearly _begging_ her to say yes, she couldn't resist. The blonde girl that had fallen for him in the first place was euphoric, but the bombshell that hated him was _not_ looking forward to this at all.

She suddenly caught the scent of bacon and groaned when her stomach rumbled in hunger. He already knew how to get to her, and she didn't like it. It meant that he could start getting under her skin…if he wasn't already. She couldn't even tell. As far as she could tell all he did was irritate the crap out of her, but she guessed that meant he was _already_ under his skin.

Tatiana groaned as she stretched and rolled out of the bed, swinging her legs to the floor and rubbing her eyes again as she stood and headed for the living room, leaving the note on the bed. She let the scent of her breakfast guide her to the table and plopped down in the chair in front of the plate with eggs, bacon and a glass of orange juice.

Frowning again, she noticed another note tucked under the lip of the plate and pulled it out to read it as her other hand went to the fork to start eating.

_There's a couple outfits hanging in your closet. Pick one after you finish eating. Be ready by nine._

She frowned again and looked to the microwave in the kitchen for the time and cursed before turning to her plate and hurrying to eat her breakfast and downed her juice.

8:50

Tatiana hurriedly placed her dishes in the kitchen before darting into her room and opening the closet frowning in confusion by what she found. Her usual black, knee high boots sat on the floor and hanging above them was a white short-sleeved shirt with a small purple vest and a matching white skirt that fell mid-thigh.

He'd given her the choice between that or a white dress that she didn't bother to take a good look at. She couldn't. It would scare her. She groaned and grabbed the white and purple outfit along with her boots.

"He's _trying_ to annoy me, isn't he?" she muttered, tossing the clothes on the bed and starting to change from her pajamas. "Putting me in dresses and skirts like I'm some kind of _doll_. I _hate_ skirts…and dresses."

Tatiana grabbed the white top and went to pull it on but stopped and frowned when she noticed something on the floor that hadn't been there before. She guessed it had fallen out of the shirt and quickly leaned over to pick the note up and red it.

_Quit dawdling and get your ass to the lobby already._

"Charming," she muttered, tossing the note away and continuing to get dressed. She quickly finished getting ready and was about to head out of the bathroom but stopped when she noticed something on the counter next to the sink. She reached for the large, dragonfly hair clip and examined it before noticing he note sitting in the same place.

"What's with all the goddamn notes?" she groaned, snatching it from the counter and opening it with a sigh.

_Sorry I cursed at you. The clip is for you. I'm waiting in the lobby._

Tatiana couldn't help but give a small smile as she tossed the note onto the counter again before sliding the clip into her hair and setting it.

"Ok, so maybe he _is_ trying," she admitted, quickly running her fingers through her hair and then darting out of the bathroom, grabbing her denim jacket and running toward the elevator.

She found herself tapping her foot in impatience, then frowning in wonder at _why_ she was doing it as the elevator took her to the lobby. She stilled her foot, only to wring her hands and she rolled her eyes in agitation at herself.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" she snapped, just as the elevator stopped and opened to allow her to march out. "It's just _Sylar_. Dumb, irritating, old…"

Her marching slowed as she caught sight of Sylar sitting in one of the armchairs in the lobby. He looked…_different_ to say the least. He wasn't looking at her as he sat reclined back, his elbows on the armrests, his hands together as he tapped his foot as she had been doing earlier. His hair was cut and spiked, and he wore his standard, black, button-down shirt under a dark blue jacket with blue jeans and his usual Converse.

The thing that had her stop dead when he looked at her, was the glasses he wore. She knew they didn't have lenses, she could tell. There was no glare over his gorgeous, deep brown eyes as he stood and stared at her through narrow, black, thick frames. She stared at him as he stepped in front of her, adjusting his jacket and clearing his throat.

"You-" he tried, his voice cracking before he cleared it and tried again. "You look good, Blondie."

"Th-Thanks," Tatiana sputtered, then swallowed, looking him up and down before looking away and rocking on her feet as she muttered, "You too…Gabriel."

Sylar gave a small smirk before stepping to her right and holding out his arm for her to take it. She frowned in wonder but he only urged her to take his arm and she narrowed her gaze at him but looped her arm through his. His smirk grew slightly before he led her toward the door of the hotel.

"I, uh…Nice haircut," she mumbled.

"Thanks," he smirked as she didn't look at him. "That clip suits you. Glad I got the right one."

"Yeah…" she nodded, then asked, "What's with the glasses?" as they reached the door and he used his telekinesis to open the door for them to walk out. "They don't even have lenses in them."

"Don't like 'em?" he wondered as he led her down the sidewalk.

"I didn't say that," she retorted, making him smirk, arrogantly. "I'm asking why you're wearing them."

"I wore glasses when I worked in my dad's shop, remember?" he replied. "I thought _you_ would have remembered that."

"I _do_," she replied, starting to get a little irritated with him. "But-"

"Don't you wanna know where we're going?" he cut in, obviously avoiding the question.

Tatiana glared at him but sighed and replied, "Sure. Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise," Sylar smirked and she glared at him again.

"Dammit, Sylar! Quit playing your damn head games!"

"Oh, but it's _so_ fun," he murmured, leaning close to her ear.

"You're _supposed_ to be a _gentleman_," she reminded him, not looking at him.

"I am," he replied. "I didn't hang around the room while you got ready, did I? I made you breakfast, I waited for you in the lobby, I escorted you out of the hotel, I even opened the damn door for you. I've been the _model_ of a gentleman."

"I beg to differ," Tatiana scoffed. "You cursed at me in one of those notes you left. And what the _hell_ was with those notes, anyway?"

"Well, gee, I _thought_ it would be kinda _romantic_ for you, finding a bunch of little notes all over the place," he retorted.

"Yeah, maybe, if the notes said something cute like, 'I can't wait to see how you look when you step into the lobby.' Not just, 'I'm waiting in the lobby.'"

"I'll tell you what, _you_ write the notes and _I'll_ leave them next time. How's that?" Sylar shot back and Tatiana gave him a blank stare.

"Oh, that's _real_ romantic," she blurted, then shook her head in exasperation.

"Ok, if you're gonna be in _this_ kind of mood all day, I'm not sure we should even _do_ this," he snapped, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and pulling her to face him. "You have _no_ idea what I went through to set up the stuff I've got in order for us today. I expect _gratefulness_, not sarcasm."

"I'm just saying-"

"Do you wanna go back to the room?" he asked seriously, making her frown at his tone, but she said nothing. "I'm serious. Do you wanna stay in the room or go out on this date with me? It's up to you."

"I already said I would go out with you, why are you asking me again?"

"Because you're acting like you don't wanna do this. So make up your mind."

"I already have! So let's go already!"

"With _that_ attitude, I'm not taking you anywhere!"

Tatiana pursed her lips in rage but closed her eyes and took in a deep breath to calm herself before looking back at him again.

"Alright, I'm…I'm sorry," she blurted. "I just…haven't been on a date in a while. And I've _never_ been on one with…"

"A former serial killer?" Sylar finished and Tatiana gave a nod. "Well, just…_try_ to have fun, at least. I think you'll enjoy what I've got set up for us."

"I'm kind of afraid to find out you've got planned," she retorted as he led them down the sidewalk again.

"You'll like it," he smirked. "Trust me."

"Just answer me one question," she requested and he frowned at her in wonder. "I really wanna know why you're wearing those glasses."

Sylar gave a sigh before replied, "Because, it was the _old_ me you liked, right? The son of a watchmaker. Figured I'd give you _some_ of the same look as I had back then."

Tatiana only stared at him with wide eyes as they continued down the street and he suddenly pulled her down an alley, breaking her trance and making her frown in wonder.

"Gabriel-?"

He cut her off when he pulled her close to him, making her slam into his chest and she looked up at him in wide-eyed wonder as he slid his arms around her waist. She looked around at his arms before looking back up at him, her heart thumping in her chest and she _knew_ he could hear it because he smirked, confidently.

"Don't worry," Sylar murmured. "I won't get _too_ frisky if you don't want me to."

"Seriously?" she blurted. "You're bringing me into an alley to make a move on me?"

"It's a bit more than that, Blondie," he smirked, pulling her a little closer and making her heart skip slightly in its thumping. "You might wanna hold on."

Tatiana frowned in wonder but immediately threw her arms around him when she felt her feet leave the ground and Sylar chuckled at her as she looked down. They began floating above the roofs on either side of the alley when she looked back at him, suddenly realizing how close he was holding her and he smirked at the blush slowly creeping over her cheeks.

"Having fun yet?" he wondered and heard her swallow, but she said nothing, their gazes now locked.

"W-Where are we going?" she nearly whispered.

"I keep _telling_ you, babe," he smirked, and leaned toward her face, placing his lips next to her ear to murmur, "It's a surprise."

Tatiana held back a groan as he pulled her closer, but she couldn't help wrapping her arms a little farther around his neck.

_This__ is the man I fell for four years ago_, she thought to herself. _Why can't he be like this __all__ the time?_

"Hold on tight, babe," he whispered, and she instantly tightened her arms around his neck again as he suddenly shot off, still holding her around her waist.

She held on, her eyes shut tight and only able to think about how close he was holding her. Tatiana suddenly felt them slow down and opened her eyes when her feet touched the ground.

"We're here, sweetheart," he murmured into her ear and she held back a shiver to look around at where they were, making her eyes widen instantly and she gripped him a little tighter.

"Holy _shit_, Gabriel!" she breathed, still looking around as they stood on a small balcony. "How'd we get to _Paris_ so fast?"

"Because _I_ flew us here, Blondie," he smirked as she looked back at him. "You wanted to see Paris, didn't you?"

"Now, how-? Never mind," she replied, shaking her head in dismissal as she remembered he had Lydia's power. "Yes, I've always wanted to come to Paris, now can we please get down from here before we fall to our deaths from the Eiffel Tower, please?"

"You know I wouldn't let that happen," he smirked. "I can fly."

"Yeah, I know," she nodded. "Now fly us _down_ from here."

"Oh, alright," he groaned, and she gave a small gasp when he pulled her close to float over the balcony and down to the ground. Once they landed, he slid his arms from around her and took her hand to lead her down the Parisian streets. "First on the agenda: A stroll in the park."

Sylar smirked and pulled Tatiana close to sling his arm over her shoulders and pull her close.

"When you go out, you go _all_ out, don't you?" she smirked up at him and he leaned close to her ear, making her stiffen slightly.

"You better believe it, Blondie," he murmured and took a chance at nipping her earlobe.

"W-What the hell?" she squeaked, her cheeks turning a bright red as she shoved him away, but he held her around the neck as he stood tall, laughing out loud.

"Sorry, babe," he laughed. "I couldn't resist."

"Well next time _try_!" she shot back as they continued walking and he smirked at her as she tried not to look at him, a blush still gracing her cheeks.

His eyes softened on her as he heard her heart thumping a fast pace with his sensitive hearing and didn't fail to notice that _his_ heart was nearly matching it.

_This is gonna be an interesting day_, he thought to himself with a smirk.

* * *

_Evening..._

"That was a freakin' _long_ stroll in the park," Tatiana commented as she and Sylar touched down on the balcony outside the penthouse hotel room.

"_You_ were the one that wanted to stop and mess with that mime," he reminded her, opening the door with his telekinesis to let them into the room. "I can't believe you actually _encouraged_ me to fire a bolt of lightening at his ass!"

They walked into the room as the lights came on by themselves and Tatiana swiftly swung herself in front of him to place a finger to his chest and smile up at him, "Well, you're not the _only_ one who knows how to mess with people."

She giggled as he gave a slight chuckle, their gazes meeting as her hand flattened against his chest, one of his arms around her waist. Neither one could pull away as they stood in the middle of the room, staring at each other, their hearts pounding in their chests, seemingly reaching for the other. Sylar moved to slip his other arm around her but she cleared her throat and stepped away before he could, breaking their trances.

"So, what's next for tonight?" she wondered, heading into the bedroom and Sylar swallowed as he stayed in his place.

"Dinner," he replied simply, then explained. "We have reservations for eight."

"I take it you want me to change into this _girly_ number, here?" Tatiana called, hanging the dress she'd seen earlier out the door for him to see and he gave a smirk as he stepped toward the door.

"Yes, that would be a good idea," he agreed as she pulled the dress back through the door.

"Fine," she sighed and he heard some shuffling as she began to change. "I don't think my boots will go well with this, though."

"There should be a pair of heels in the closet," he replied, leaning next to the door.

"Found 'em," she called, then heard her starting to struggle with something.

Frowning, he peeked through the crack left from the door being ajar and noticed her back facing him as she tried zipping the back of her dress. Sylar gave a devious smirk and couldn't resist. He pointed a finger at the zipper and slowly lifted it up her back, using his telekinesis. She gasped and straightened as he reached the end then she spun around with wide, emerald eyes and a blush over her cheeks.

"Sylar!" she cried, seeing the door crack in the door and he gave a chuckle as he moved away.

"You're welcome!" he called and heard her growl in rage and stomp around the room as he headed to the elevator to wait for her.

A moment later she came marching from the room with a scowl on her face and Sylar chuckled before he _really_ looked at her.

The hem of the dress brushed her knees, and the neckline modestly covered her chest, dipping into a slight 'V' cut to match the outline of the bow below it, the sleeves an inch thick on her shoulders and she wore black, lace-up sandals with inch-high heels.

"Next time you do that, I'm gonna beat you, understand?" she scolded, and he only stared at her. "Did you hear me?"

"You…You look good," was all he could get out at the moment, and it seem to appease her because she drew back and shifted her gaze around as a slight blush tinted her cheeks.

"Oh," she blurted. "Th-Thank you."

Sylar cleared his throat, still staring at her with wide eyes through his fake glasses and sputtered, "Well, we…we better get going if we're gonna make dinner."

* * *

_After dinner..._

Sylar and Tatiana raced through the rain and under the awning of the hotel they were staying in to shake off some of the access water dripping from them, laughing the entire time.

"Well, so much for beating the rain," Sylar complained, shaking water from his foot as Tatiana shook some from her hands. "I thought for sure we would have plenty of time."

"Your weather gage is crap," the blonde laughing, making him look at her with wide eyes.

"Oh, and _yours_ is any better?" he retorted. "If it was, you could have _said_ something!"

"Like you were gonna listen to me," she shot back with a smirk.

"Whatever," he replied, waving it off before taking her hand in his. "Let's get inside and get dry, huh?"

"Fine with me," Tatiana huffed, letting him lead her into the hotel. He pulled her under his arm as they reached the elevator and they were silent for a moment as they were sent to the penthouse suite.

"So…" Sylar began, making Tatiana turn to him with a slight frown. "You have fun today?"

"Yeah," she smiled slightly. "It was really nice."

"Good," he nodded, not looking at away from the doors the entire time as the elevator came to a stop and they stepped into their room. He lowered his arm from her shoulders and stepped closer to the living room, shoving his hands in his pockets as she stopped to face him. "I'll let you dry off. Just hang your clothes up and I'll take care of 'em."

"What about _you_?" she wondered with a frown.

"Don't worry about me," he shrugged with a smirk, lifting a hand as a blue stream of electricity sparked around it, causing steam to emit from his hand. "I'm my own dryer."

Tatiana couldn't help but giggle before she gave a nod and turned to the bedroom but stopped and turned to head back to him, making him frown. She said nothing for a moment as she stepped in front of him then turned her back to him as he still frowned at her.

"Could you…unzip me?" she murmured, using one hand to point over her shoulder at the zipper on her dress and Sylar stared wide eyes at the back of her head, but she didn't walk away or say anything else.

_She's testing me_, he thought. _She's __gotta__ be! She would never-!_

"I can't reach it," she suddenly explained, still not looking at him and he swallowed as he stepped a touch closer, his hands moving hesitantly toward the zipper.

He gripped the top of it, his fingers brushing against her skin and making her back straighten as his other hand gripped the zipper and he started to slowly pull it down, revealing more of her smooth back. Tatiana lifted her hands in front of her to keep the front of the dress from falling and took in a slow, silent sigh as Sylar swallowed again when he reached the end of the zipper.

"Thanks," she muttered over her shoulder, and moved to walk away, but his hands didn't let go of the dress, and she frowned when she was tugged back again. "Gabriel?"

She gave a small gasp when she felt warm fingers slide to either side of her neck, and slowly run down her shoulders. Her heart raced in what she could only think to describe as panic, but she didn't pull away, or even turn to yell at him. She was surprised to realize that she wasn't enraged that he was slowly slipping her sleeves down her shoulders. She wasn't infuriated that his hands were slipping to her waist and pulling her closer to him as he lowered his face to hers.

"Can I call you Tina now?" he wondered, his deep baritone voice hitting her eardrum like a hammer and she couldn't hold back the small moan it ensued.

"Yeah," she breathed, her mind swimming in a daze as she tried to figure out how his body could be so warm when they'd just come out of the cold rain that was still pitter-pattering against the window and roof of the penthouse.

"I remember you now," he breathed, and she froze as he still held her against his body. "Your hair was longer then. I remember not being able to take my eyes off of you the first day you came in. I wanted to ask you out, but I had thought a girl like you wouldn't even _think_ of being with somebody like me. So I blocked you out. I thought that if I did that, I wouldn't want you, and I wouldn't be disappointed if you _never_ spoke to me. It was stupid, I know. I'm sorry I was such an ass."

He suddenly stood tall and pulled away enough to turn her to face him and look into her eyes.

"Do you forgive me?"

Tatiana searched his gaze for his true feelings. He regretted it. _All_ of it. Everything he'd done to anyone in his life. She could see it in his eyes, he wasn't just asking forgiveness from her for ignoring her, he was asking for forgiveness for everything he'd done. He was looking to _her_ for redemption, because if he could convince _her_, the stubborn, firecracker of a blonde, that he'd changed, maybe he could convince the _world_.

"Only…" she tried and pulled n a breath before she continued, "Only if you forgive _me_ for not seeing that you _have_ changed, I forgive you…for _all_ of it, Gabriel."

Sylar's eyes widened before he burst into a grin and he bent down to wrap his arms around her waist and lift her off the floor and spin her around as she gave a small shout of surprise, but soon giggled before he set her down again.

"You know me, Tina," he smiled, his arms still around her waist to pull her close. "You know who I was _before_ all of this. I knew that if I could show _you_ I had changed that everyone else would believe it. Now…Now maybe I can live in peace."

"I hope so," she smiled back, thumbing through his damp hair.

"There's just one more thing I need to make everything perfect," he explained, making her frown in wonder.

"What's that?" she asked.

He didn't answer as he smirked and slowly moved his face toward hers as she still frowned in wonder, but didn't attempt to move away. A smile slowly crept to her lips, making him smile as well as he stopped just short of touching his lips to hers.

"You game?" he whispered, pulling her closer but their lips were still just a breath away from the others.

"I'm game," she smirked, slipping her arms around his neck a little tighter as they both closed their eyes and met each other's lips.

Tatiana moaned when a chill of delight ran up her spine at the contact as he wasted no time in sliding his tongue into her mouth to taste her. She immediately responded as they pulled each other closer, and before she realized what had happened, she'd been swept off of her feet and was being carried toward the bedroom, still engaged in the kiss as her hands combed through his still damp hair.

Sylar used his telekinesis to open the bedroom door completely and when his legs gently bumped the edge of the bed, he shifted the woman in his arms to set her down and crawl on top of her to lower his lips to her neck.

"How'd you know I've always wanted to be carried like a princess?" Tatiana smiled, slowly pulling his jacket off of his shoulders as he left warm, wet kisses to her neck and she felt him smile against her skin.

"That was a lucky guess," he admitted, lifting his head to plant his lips to hers again, his hands running down her sides to settle on her waist as she giggled.

"Pretty _damn_ lucky if you ask me," she murmured into his ear as he trailed kisses down her neck and shoulder again.

"Less talk, more moaning," he smirked, pressing her into the mattress and making her arch her back against him with a small moan.

"Yes, my lord," she smirked.

* * *

**A/N:** yea...fluff. lol! anyway, i couldn't resist it, but at least i put dramatic storyline into this one, right? anywhos! reviews?


	10. Trust

**A/N:** new chappie ! enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter 10: Trust**_

Sylar's eyes shot open when the hotel room phone rang and he groaned irritably as he lifted a hand to rub the sleep from his face as he lay on his back. The phone rang again but he ignored it to look down at the still sleeping Tatiana snuggled against him as he held her with his other arm. He lifted a hand to stroke some of her blonde hair from her face as the phone continued to ring.

"If you don't answer that I'm gonna beat you with it," she muttered, her eyes still closed as his hand stroked her face.

"Promises, promises," he smirked, and that earned him a pinch from her hand resting on his chest.

"Answer the damn phone," she grumbled, moving to let him move his arm out from under her and she turned onto her other side as he chuckled, rolling over to answer the phone on the nightstand next to the bed.

"Hello?" he answered in a raw voice, rubbing his face again.

"_Morning, sleepy head_," a familiar voice teased and Sylar couldn't help but smirk.

"Noah Bennett," he hummed, lying on his back again as Tatiana gave a sleepy frown and slowly sat up to turn it to him. "I can't call you but _you_ can call _me_? That's not fair."

"_Don't you just __love__ double standards?_" Noah retorted, making Sylar chuckle again and look to Tatiana as she still frowned at him in wonder.

"Come 'ere, babe," he murmured, lifting an arm toward her and though she wanted to resist, she crawled toward him and rested against his chest again.

"_What'd you say?_" Noah wondered if he'd heard right.

"Nothing," Sylar lied before kissing Tatiana's frown and pulling her closer as she set her head on his chest. "To what do I owe _this_ call, huh?"

"_I need your help again_," Noah replied quickly, as if he wanted to get the words out and get it over with. Sylar smirked and opened his mouth to retorted, but Noah cut him off.

"_Spare me the smart ass remarks, Sylar. Just listen. The reason we needed to catch Felch was because he was holding two people hostage. Two people you happen to know very well. He told us where they were, and we've found them, but they need to be kept safe. That's where you and Tatiana come in. You two are gonna be their bodyguards until Felch is found._"

Sylar didn't reply for a moment as he frowned in utter confusion. He then turned to Tatiana and knew he couldn't carry this conversation on with her around. She'd ask too many questions, and he didn't want her meeting up with Hayden again. He knew you could get your memory back if the Haitian erased it. Peter had told him about it when they were stuck in Sylar's mind and trying to escape, that it had happened to _him_.

"_Sylar?_"

"Hang on a minute," Sylar spoke into the phone before lowering it to his shoulder to cover the mouthpiece as Tatiana frowned up at him but he only told her, "Why don't you go get started on breakfast? I'll be out there in a minute."

"What does he-?"

"There should be eggs and bacon left in the fridge," he cut in gently, smiling warmly as Tatiana still frowned at him. "Don't worry, Blondie. I just gotta take care of this and I'll be out there in a sec."

Tatiana narrowed her gaze at him suspiciously but decided not to argue as she shuffled off of the bed and grabbed his shirt on the way to the bedroom door. Sylar couldn't help but smirk as he watched her walk away, but it instantly disappeared when she was out of the room. He sat up and used his telekinesis to close the door then brought the phone back to his ear.

"What the _hell_ do you mean 'until Felch is found'?" he snarled into the phone. "We had him! I know! I was _there_!"

"_Yeah, I know_," Noah began. "_And __he__ knows too. He's pissed as hell at you for what you did, and he's coming after you_."

"Quit dancing around the damn question, Bennett!" Sylar snarled. "What happened?"

"_He escaped,_" Noah replied, making Sylar's anger melt into shock as he stared ahead with wide eyes. "_He told us where the girls are under one condition. We had to tell him where to two of __you__ were_."

"You bastard-!"

"_I gave him a false location, Sylar_," Noah cut in. "_By the time he figures it out, you guys will be with Molly and Maya here. Figured I'd kill two birds with one stone by having you two protect them so __we__ could protect __you_."

"How thoughtful," Sylar muttered then replayed the last sentence in his head and asked, "Wait a minute. Did you just say Molly and Maya?"

"_We weren't going to let him go at all, but he got away_-"

"Bennett," Sylar growled. "Did you say Molly and Maya? Are _they_ the hostages he was hiding?"

"_Yes_," Noah replied.

"You really think they'll be up for _me_ protecting them?" Sylar questioned.

"_No_," Noah replied, flatly. "_But that's why Tatiana is coming along. The girls will actually __trust__ someone else you've wronged. Besides, you wanted to prove you've changed, didn't you? This'll be your chance to show you're not the boogeyman anymore_."

"Sure, after I get kicked in the shin by Molly and slapped by Maya," Sylar retorted. "Not to mention, I'll never hear the end of it from Tatiana."

"_How are things going with that by the way?_" Noah asked, as if he was truly interested. "_She find your kill spot? Think she'll tell __me__ where it is?_"

"No, and no," Sylar blurted trying to get back on topic by asking, "What is it about these girls that're so special? They don't have their abilities anymore, do they?"

"_You'd have to ask Felch that question, and when he finds you, he's not gonna be very talkative_," Noah replied.

"You mean _if_, right," Sylar hoped.

"_Sure, 'if'_," Noah replied, and Sylar could hear the smirk in his tone.

"So it'll be me and Tatiana protecting them?" Sylar asked. "I thought you would've stuck someone else in there for insurance."

"_Claire's gonna be there, too_," Noah muttered, not thrilled at _all_ with that fact. "_She __insisted__ on being there_."

"I see another slap coming," Sylar blurted. "_Maybe_ a broken arm since she knows I'll heal anyway."

"_You listen to me, Sylar_," Noah snapped. "_I don't __want__ Claire to be there, but since she's not letting this go, if __anything__ happens, you keep her safe too, got it?_"

"Trusting me with your precious Claire Bear, are you?" Sylar couldn't help but smirk, deviously.

"_I mean it, Sylar!_"

"Alright, alright, I promise. No need to shout in my ear. Where do you want us and when?"

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

Tatiana shuffled around the kitchen, nearly finished with breakfast and glancing at the bedroom door every once in a while, wondering what was taking Sylar so long.

She jumped when the bacon grease spat at her from the pan and scowled at it before lifting a hand over the pan and forming one of her shields above it with one finger. She then opened her hand, her fingers pointing down and moved it downward, the shield arching to form a cover over the pan just as it spat again. She lifted her hand over it again and poked to the top to make a finger sized hole to let the heat and steam vent through it.

Hearing the bedroom door open she looked over to see Sylar walk in wearing jeans and he plopped himself at the table, rubbing his face tiredly again.

"So what was _that_ about?" she asked.

"Bennett needs my help again," Sylar replied, moving one hand to scratch at the back of his head. "He asked for _your_ help too."

"What for?" she frowned, turning off the burner on the stove and dropping her shield over the pan.

"Babysitting job," Sylar yawned. "He wants us to keep these two Former Specials safe until they find the guy that's after them."

"_Former_ Specials?" Tatiana asked, placing eggs and bacon on two plates and carrying them to the table, one for Sylar, one for her as she sat across from him.

"Yeah," Sylar sighed, lifting his hand toward a drawer and using his telekinesis to open it he lifted two forks out of it and drew them into his hand. He handed one to Tatiana as he explained, "They had their powers taken away from them."

"By that virus?" she guessed, taking the fork and starting at her food.

"No," he replied, starting at his food as well. "By another Special. Anyway, Bennett caught this guy that was holding them hostage somewhere, and when he gave up the location he escaped. They want us to keep the girls safe until they find the guy."

"This guy holding them hostage was a Special?" Tatiana guessed and he nodded. "What's his power?"

"Teleportation," he replied, casually, but his heart was racing in panic.

He wasn't going to lie to her, even if she didn't _think_ he was lying to her, but he didn't want her to remember Hayden Felch. He was afraid she'd fall for the scumbag all over again, and that thought, for whatever reason, made his stomach churn as if he were going to puke.

"Well, this just gets better and better, doesn't it?" she smirked, taking a bite of food. "So, when do we leave?"

"After breakfast," Sylar replied through a mouthful of egg. "We'll get dressed, pack our things and be on our way. Bennett's sending a car for us. I told him I'd fly, but he wouldn't have it. Paranoid, as always."

Tatiana nodded, paying more attention to her food as he watched her for a moment in thought. Coming to a decision he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood, drawing Tatiana's attention to him with a frown. He stepped next to her and held his hand to her as she still frowned up at him as he only smiled warmly.

"Come 'ere a sec," he murmured, beckoning her with a jerk of his fingers and she glanced between his hand and his smile before placing her hand into his and letting him pull her to her feet to lead her into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" she frowned. "I thought we were eating."

"We are," he nodded, stopping at one of the drawers and opening it. "But I wanted to do this before you ate _too_ much."

"What do you mean before I ate too much-What the hell are you doing with that knife?" Tatiana asked, her eyes widening as she went to pull her hand away but he held it tightly.

"Trust me, Tina," he murmured, pulling her a little closer as she shook her head, glancing between the knife and his cool smile.

"What are you doing?" she asked, but stared down at her hand when he placed the knife in it.

"I'm trusting you to pull this out," he replied, making her frown up at him.

"Pull it out of what?" she breathed.

"I hid it pretty well, but if you try hard, you'd be able to find it," he explained, making her frown deepen as he took her hand in both of his, the knife pointed at him as he lowered her hand to his left side, just below his ribs. "You gotta angle it just right…"

"Gabriel? What the hell are you doing?" she nearly screamed, trying to pull the knife away but he was stronger and kept it in place, her hand still in both of his.

"Remember when I told you I was immortal?" he asked, and she stopped to look up at him with a nod. "I kind of lied. I have a kill spot. It's supposed to be in the back of my neck but I moved it around till I found the perfect place for it. I wanna show you I'm not lying about this-"

"I know you're not," Tatiana shuddered as she trembled. "Gabriel, I believe you. You don't have to kill yourself to show me you're not lying. Hell, I _slept_ with you last night! Doesn't that show you that I don't hate you anymore? Put the damn knife down!"

Sylar looked at her, his grip loosening on her hand and she yanked it away to toss the knife as far away from them as possible.

"The _hell_ is wrong with you?" she snapped, breathing heavily from her heart racing in panic and she grabbed his hand to pull him toward the table and sit him in his spot before she sat in hers. "Eat before the rest of your food gets cold."

Sylar stared at her for a moment before looking down at his plate and hesitantly taking his fork into his hand to begin eating again. Looking up at her as she instantly began shoveling food into her mouth he couldn't help but smirk with pride at the fact that she'd admitted what she had. She didn't hate him, and she was obviously concerned about him even if he _was_ invincible to a point. He'd finally proven to her that he had changed. He just hoped she would stick by him after this new adventure they were about to have.

* * *

**A/N:** dun dun DUUUUNNN! lol! alright, so i couldn't remember if Molly still had her powers, so i cheated and looked it up. Arthur Petrelli apparently took her power so he could find Hiro and Claire, for those of you that might not remember. anyway, that's why i wrote it this way. if it's wrong i'm so sorry. i try to be as accurate as i can. reviews?


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